Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen
by Gazing on the Arabesque
Summary: Fifteen years ago, Nagato entrusted his daughter Sakura to two civilians in Konoha, trying to keep her as far away from Madara as possible. Now Madara hunts her tirelessly for her Rinnegan. Sasuke betrays Akatsuki, and the entire shinobi world goes to war
1. And So it Begins

**This whole story started it out with one thought: Sasuke and Kakashi have the Sharingan, and Naruto has the Kyuubi. It's not fair that everyone downplays Sakura just because she's comparatively weaker than her teammates. Maybe Kishimoto should give her a really strong technique so she can finally be on par with Naruto and Sasuke.**

**Also, am I the only one who finds it hard to believe that Sasuke just suddenly went insane after finding out the truth? Almost everything he does after that is kind of out of character for him. You know in the whole Team Seven reunion, when he bursts into maniacal laughter? Isn't that a bit too dramatic? Here's a different take on what happened with Sasuke: what if he's trying to become Itachi? What if he's only staying in Akatsuki so that he can spy on them and sabotage Madara? And what if he's lying to everyone else just so that he can do this? Sasuke always seemed like the type of person who would try too hard to achieve their goals, so in this fic, Sasuke's trying too hard to be like Itachi.**

**During this chapter, the war hasn't really started yet. So there's only spoilers up to chapter five hundred something. Enjoy!**

XX

Madara slammed his fist down on the table. "Damn you, Nagato…" he muttered under his breath.

"What is it, Madara-sama?" Kabuto asked.

"Kabuto," Madara practically growled. "Summon Nagato now. Bring him here." Kabuto bowed his head slightly.

"As you wish, Madara-sama," he said as he pushed his glasses up his nose. Madara slammed his fist down on the table. _Damn it_, he thought. _If Nagato and Konan had a daughter, then that means the Rinnegan would have been passed down to her. If she develops the Rinnegan, then winning this war will become especially difficult. Unless…_ Madara suddenly smirked._ Unless I take her eyes… Yes, that would work. Not only would I gain an advantage over the Allied Shinobi Forces by taking their best medic… I would also gain another pair of Rinnegans._ Madara's smirk widened.

_Haruno Sakura, you are going _down_._

_

* * *

_

Sakura tied her forehead protector around her head and stared at her reflection in the mirror. It was the same face she saw every day, but today, something was a little off. Her face was slightly pale and her eyes were a duller shade of green than usual. She knew she shouldn't have stayed at the hospital for so long the night before. Her eyes burned slightly, but Sakura just brushed that aside. She was definitely tired, but that wasn't going to stop her. That wasn't going to stop the war either. She slipped on the green jounin vest Kakashi had given to her earlier and pulled her hair out of her shirt. It had grown slightly longer since her little showdown with Sasuke at the Land of Iron. There was a knock at the door, and Sakura's mother, a woman with light brown hair and blue eyes, entered the room. "Sakura?" she said. "Can I come in?" Sakura forced a smile and nodded.

"Sure, _Okaa-san_," she replied. Sakura's mother stood behind Sakura and placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders.

"Are you nervous?" Sakura laughed nervously.

"For what?" she asked. Her mother wore a worried look on her face.

"You're about to march off into war," she said. "I'm worried about you."

"I'll be fine, _Okaa-san_," Sakura assured her mother. "I'm a medic, so maybe I'll just be assigned to a medical team…" Sakura sighed. "Or I could be the medic of an offensive team." Sakura turned her head to look at the picture of Team Seven. She could see herself smiling in glee while she stood in between Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto and Sasuke were both glaring at each other, and Kakashi was smiling while patting both their heads. Sakura sighed again. She sure missed those days. Sakura made her way to the corner of her room, where a large axe with a red swirl on the blade lay. There was a hole in the large blade, and through that hole ran silver chains. Attached to those chains were kunai Sakura had just sharpened. Sakura grabbed the hilt of the axe and held it out.

"That's so big," Sakura's mom commented. "Are you sure you're going to be able to fight with that?" Sakura frowned at the axe determinedly.

"It has a wider attack range than just my fists," Sakura explained. "Sure, it slows me down a little, but if I channel my chakra through the blade, it will amplify the axe's power. That would generate more power than my fists alone." Sakura's mother smiled sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't really follow that," she said. Sakura laughed.

"It's ok, _Okaa-san_." Sakura's mom stroked her daughter's hair.

"Maybe you'll meet your real parents," she mused. Sakura just shook her head.

"It doesn't matter." She grinned up at her mother. "My _real_ mother is who raised me, right?" Sakura's mom couldn't help but smile. She pulled her daughter close to her and hugged her tightly.

"Yes… of course…"

* * *

Sasuke sat somewhere in Akatsuki's base with bandages covering his eyes. He wasn't sure where exactly he was, just that he wasn't alone in the room. Of course, Madara had sent Zetsu down with him to keep an eye on him. Sasuke fidgeted nervously, but, thankfully, Zetsu didn't seem to notice his odd behavior. He felt like Itachi, sitting there. Ever since he'd heard the horrible truth about his clan, he vowed to follow in his brother's footsteps. Everything was going exactly as planned. First, he convinced not only Madara and Zetsu, but the rest of Team Taka and Team Seven that he'd gone insane and sworn vengence on Konoha and its elders. He felt proud of himself, being able to act well enough to convince Zetsu, Madara, Suigetsu, Juugo, Karin, Kakashi, Naruto, and even Sakura that he was insane. Then he overused his Mangekyou Sharingan to such an extent that he was nearly blind. And then he took Itachi's eyes, just as Madara wanted. Itachi was known for his Sharingan and, more importantly, his Mangekyou Sharingan. There was no way Madara was getting his hands on _that_. All that would be left were Sasuke's old, abused eyes.

Still, he was no Itachi. He couldn't get rid of that gnawing feeling of guilt in his gut ever since his confrontation with Team Seven at the Land of Iron. The Chidori he used on Karin and Danzo was meant to paralyze, not kill, although it definitely eliminated Danzo. The Chidori he was about to use on Sakura was supposed to be a milder version of what he'd used on Danzo and Karin, but he was sure Sakura was convinced that he tried to kill her. He felt a sinking feeling in his gut as he remembered one more thing: Sakura wanted him dead too. It seemed that everyone wanted him dead. Even Sakura, who was the last person Sasuke expected to turn her back on him. And then there was Naruto. Naruto saw that they were both going to die if they fought each other, so all Sasuke had to do was make sure that never happened.

Sasuke clenched his fists in determination. As soon as this war was over, he would go to Sakura and Naruto and explain what happened. Maybe, somehow, they'd forgive him. He supposed he would have to do the same for everyone else as well. Sasuke shifted slightly as he heard Zetsu move. "Sasuke," Zetsu's white half called.

"_It's time_," Zetsu's black half announced.

* * *

Sakura dragged her feet through the streets of Konoha. In the end, she decided to wear her hair in a ponytail and her forehead protector on her arm. She'd sheathed her axe earlier and slung it over her back. There was still one place she had to stop before she left entirely. She made her way to the run-down apartments, the complex where Naruto lived. Only, she didn't stop at Naruto's house. She made her way further into the complex and knocked on another door. Karin opened the door and crossed her arms. "About time," she grumbled. "I thought you'd never show up!" Sakura smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry," she apologized. Karin sighed.

"Look," she said. "I know you have to go soon, so I'll just make this quick. I need you to do me a favor. If you happen to run into two guys, Suigetsu and Juugo, tell them Karin's looking for them." Sakura nodded.

"Ok…" she whispered. Karin smiled sympathetically.

"Good luck," she said. "I'm sure you'll do great." Sakura smiled too.

"Thanks, Karin…" Karin pumped her fist in the air.

"Knock 'em dead, Sakura!" Sakura laughed as she turned on her heel to leave.

"Believe me," she said. "I will."

* * *

"So 'dis how you do it," Killer Bee explained to Naruto. His chakra flared up and wrapped itself around one block. He then moved his chakra so that the block landed on top of another one. Within seconds, there was just one stack of five or six blocks. "Now you go. There's nothin' to it!" Naruto formed a seal with his hands and struggled to get his chakra to move. He made his chakra wrap itself around one block, but, after a few seconds, the block fell to the ground with a thud.

"Argh!" Naruto cried out in frustration. "I can't do this!" Suddenly, the ground shook violently. "Another earthquake?" Killer Bee rubbed his chin contemplatively.

"This one's worse than before…" he mused. The next thing both of them knew, the world had flipped upside down.

"Aah!" Naruto cried out. "We're upside down!" After a few seconds, things had returned to normal. "What just happened? What's going on?"

"Calm down!" Killer Bee yelled. "Everything's fine!"

_I hope…_ he thought bitterly.

* * *

"Ah, Sasuke, there you are," Madara said as Sasuke entered the room, his eyes free of bandages. "How do you feel?" Sasuke smirked.

"Excellent," he replied. "I can feel Itachi's power surging within me. I can see so well now. I'm going to Konoha now."

"Oh yes," Madara agreed, "but while you're there, there's something I need you to take care of." Madara reached into his cloak and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "An old associate of mine, Nagato, had a daughter. The thing is, he hid her away in Konoha fifteen years ago, and I just recently found out about her… Or rather, I knew about this girl, but I just recently found out she was Nagato's daughter. Nagato is dead now, and it's only a matter of time before this girl starts sprouting Rinnegans in her eyes. I want you to kidnap this girl and bring her to me." Madara handed Sasuke the paper. "This is a photograph of the girl. Will you do this?" Sasuke nodded once.

"Of course," he replied. _Like hell I will_, he thought.

"Good," Madara concluded. "I want you to speak with Nagato first, so just come this way." And with that, Madara led Sasuke out of the room.

* * *

Kakashi sat on a bench near the gates of Konoha. Sakura walked up to him and sat down next to him. "Thanks for waiting for me, Kakashi-sensei," she said as she sat down.

"It was no problem at all, Sakura," Kakashi said. "I guess it will be some time before we're actually deployed, so I guess we should use this time to focus on your genjutsu training. You always did have a knack for it. Your problem is that you never really worked at it."

"I know," Sakura mumbled. An awkward silence fell among them, and Sakura fidgeted nervously. "Kakashi-sensei… I need to tell you something…" Kakashi looked up at her expectantly. "I'm adopted. I have no clue who my real parents are." To her surprise, Kakashi's face was calm.

"Do Naruto and Sasuke know about this?" he asked. Sakura shook her head.

"No," she replied. "This is the first time I've even mentioned it to anyone… But I guess it doesn't really matter. My real parents are the ones who raised me, right?" Kakashi frowned slightly.

"True, but what if you came from a powerful shinobi clan, then you might still inherit that clan's Kekkei Genkai."

"But if I really do have a bloodline limit, I would have awakened it already, right?" Kakashi failed to look in her direction. "Right?"

"It's hard to say," he mumbled. "Maybe you'll awaken it sometime in the near future."

"But there's no guarantee I came from a _clan_," Sakura insisted. "For all I know, my parents could have been two random shinobi."

"Aren't you at least a little curious as to who your parents are?" Kakashi asked.

"Of course," Sakura replied bluntly. "It's just not one of my top priorities right now." Kakashi smiled and ruffled Sakura's hair.

* * *

"Everything is set," Madara told Kabuto as he entered the room. "Sasuke is headed towards Konoha right now. He will bring me Haruno Sakura."

"If you don't mind me asking," Kabuto drawled, "what is it that's so important about her? By what I hear, she's an excellent medic, but other than that, she's nothing special."

"In due time, she will awaken the Rinnegan," Madara explained. "By bringing Haruno Sakura, Sasuke will bring me those Rinnegan eyes."

"So she is Nagato's…" Kabuto mused. "Interesting. I wonder how Sasuke will react to that." Madara's eyes narrowed.

"Why does that matter to you?" Kabuto smirked and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Didn't you know?" he asked. "Haruno Sakura was Sasuke's teammate, and by what I hear, they were rather close. For a long time, she was the only one who knew about his curse seal."

"Even better," Madara said. "This will be a great opportunity for Sasuke to prove his loyalty to me." Madara turned his back to Kabuto. "We've outnumbered the Allied Shinobi Forces. With two strong Sharingan users and the Rinnegan, we will win this war. Everything is going exactly as planned."

XX

**Wow… I really don't know what I was thinking when I wrote this. Anyway, let me clear up any confusion. First things first, Sakura is Nagato's daughter. Right now, only Madara and Kabuto know about this. Sakura herself knows she was adopted, but she has no clue who her real parents are. Sasuke is spying on Akatsuki and trying to sabotage it. To do so, he convinced everyone he knew that he went insane with grief and swore vengeance on Konoha. Then he went to the Kage summit and abused his eyes so much that he nearly went blind. He never meant to kill Karin and Sakura – only for it to **_**look**_** like he tried to kill them. And the whole confrontation with Team Seven was staged because he knew Zetsu was watching. And then he took Itachi's eyes, which are extremely powerful, and replaced them with his old, abused ones, so that Madara couldn't take Itachi's eyes. But, at the end of all of this, he hopes to return to Konoha and resume his old life there. Naruto is still training with Killer Bee, and he's starting to notice that things aren't what they seem.**

**I KNOW, I FAIL AT MAKING KILLER BEE RAP! AND THIS WHOLE IDEA IS REALLY CRAZY! BUT PLEASE REVIEW ANYWAY!**


	2. Captured

Sasuke stood in the room awkwardly. "Sasuke," Madara had said earlier, "this is Nagato. It is his daughter you will be searching for." Madara glared at Nagato. "I'm sure he will tell you everything you wish to know." And with that, Madara left the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Nagato was a thin man with long silvery white hair and equally pale eyes. It was a wonder how anyone so frail and ethereal-looking could have ever been a shinobi. A ray of sunlight shone through a crack in the ceiling, illuminating the room. Nagato's eyes rose up to meet Sasuke's. The Rinnegan swirled in them, unnerving Sasuke.

"You…" Nagato said quietly. Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. "You're Itachi's brother." Sasuke didn't know why, but he relaxed slightly when Nagato said this. "You look like him." Sasuke didn't say anything, and Nagato gave a heavy sigh. "It's a pity you're not following in his footsteps." Sasuke froze.

"What?" he said dumbly, unable to come up with any logical comeback.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Nagato asked. "Itachi was brilliant. I'll give him that. But if he thought he could fool everyone in Akatsuki for so long, he was mistaken."

"How…" Sasuke stuttered. "How many people knew?"

"Just me and Konan," Nagato replied lightly. "We made it a point not to tell anyone what we knew, especially not Itachi."

"Oh…" Sasuke mumbled.

"If you go after my daughter, I would stop you," Nagato said. "If I could." Sasuke frowned slightly.

"Why can't you?" he asked.

"My soul is bound to Kabuto," Nagato explained. "For the time being, I am forced to do everything he commands." He winced slightly. "I hate it. Konan and I never really liked him." His eyes snapped back up to Sasuke. "I'm sure you want to know about our daughter. When she wasn't even a year old, Konan and I took her to Konoha." His eyes averted to the floor. "We were so afraid Madara would find out about her. We knew that if Madara found out, he would use her for her Rinnegan. We wanted to make sure that would never happen." Sasuke clenched his fists. "We entrusted her to a civilian family in Konoha."

"But why Konoha?" Sasuke asked. Nagato gave a small smirk.

"We knew that Konoha was the last place Madara would expect us to take her," Nagato replied smoothly. "Did Konan and I regret what we did? Of course. Every minute of every day. We found solace in the fact that she was safe." Sasuke opened up the folded photograph. His breath caught in his chest as he saw the person in it. It was Sakura. "Sakura…" Nagato continued. "That was her name. She was always such a happy, cheerful child." Sasuke felt a knot in his stomach. "May I see that photograph?" Sasuke handed it without a word to Nagato. Nagato gave a sentimental smile as he gazed at the photograph. "She looks so much like Konan…" Sasuke's eyes averted to the floor.

"What are the chances of her getting the Rinnegan?" Sasuke asked.

"The Rinnegan is an extremely rare Dojutsu," Nagato explained. "Once it presents itself to one person, it will continue on in that person's bloodline." He rubbed his chin contemplatively. "The chances of Sakura obtaining the Rinnegan would be pretty high." Sasuke sighed, and Nagato raised his eyebrows. "You were counting on her not getting the Rinnegan, weren't you?" Sasuke nodded reluctantly. "I cannot do anything to stop you. I can only ask that you please spare her." Sasuke clenched his fists.

"Don't worry," Sasuke whispered. "As long as I'm alive, no harm will come to Sakura."

* * *

Sakura rubbed her eyes for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day. They burned more than ever now, and she was sure it wasn't just because she was tired. "Are you all right, Sakura?" Kakashi asked. Sakura forced a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied shakily. "I'm just tired, I guess." Kakashi nodded, but he didn't look too convinced. Rain poured in sheets, completely soaking everyone in the battlefield. Eight men walked up to them like zombies. Upon closer inspection, Sakura could only recognize Zabuza and Haku.

"Yosh!" Lee yelled confidently, pumping his fist into the air. "We can do this! Right, Gai-sensei?"

"HAI!" Gai yelled, also pumping his fist in the air. Kakashi sighed.

"You're both idiots," he said. Gai glared ahead, sweating bullets.

"Damn you, Kakashi!" he grumbled, balling his hand into a fist.

"Ugh…" Sakura groaned as she rubbed her eyes again. Kakashi's eyes narrowed sympathetically.

"Sakura, why don't you sit this one out?" he suggested. Sakura just shook her head stubbornly.

"No," she answered. "There's no way I'm sitting in the back while you guys protect me. Not again." Kakashi sighed. The eight shinobi neared the group. "Edo summons…" Sakura observed. "They're the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. They're all supposed to be dead." Kakashi took a fighting stance.

"Be on your guard," he warned. "They're all extremely powerful."

"Hai!" Lee and Gai replied confidently, taking fighting stances as well.

"Right," Sakura mumbled as she proceeded to take a fighting stance, but then her head burst with blinding pain. "Ugh!" Sakura groaned.

"Sakura-san!" Lee yelled. Kakashi dropped his fighting stance and sped towards Sakura, who collapsed onto her knees.

"Sakura," Kakashi said. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, and tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"My head…" Sakura groaned. "It feels like it's going to split open… What… What's going on?" There was a clash of metal as the seven swordsmen and Haku each unsheathed a sword. Kakashi regained his fighting stance, but this time in front of Sakura.

"Everyone!" Kakashi said sharply. "Sakura can't fight or heal anyone right now, so we'll just have to do the best we can without her."

"Will she be ok?" Lee asked. Kakashi cast him a withering glance.

"I don't know," he replied uncertainly.

* * *

Sasuke entered Konoha for the first time in almost three years. The streets were surprisingly empty, except for a few civilians here and there. Everyone he passed would whisper to whoever was near him or her, possibly calling him a traitor and a murderer. He headed over to Naruto's apartment complex. He knew he couldn't just randomly spring on Sakura that Nagato was her father; there was no way she'd be able to handle that. It still unnerved him, though. Sakura had never once mentioned that she was adopted. Perhaps she didn't know.

Sasuke could not remember Naruto's apartment for the life of him, so he knocked on one door, hoping that it was Naruto's. A minute passed, and still no answer. "Come on, Naruto," Sasuke growled. "Open up." At long last, the door swung open, but to his surprise, it was Karin who answered. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw him.

"You…" she mumbled, looking startled. She then regained her composure and glared at him. "What do you think you're doing here?"

"Is Naruto here?" Sasuke asked impatiently.

"What, in my apartment?" Karin asked. "No. Why would he be?"

"Then do you know where he is?" Sasuke persisted. Karin's eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"No," she replied. "All I know is that he's not in Konoha." Sasuke sighed.

"Damn it," he grumbled. "Then do you know where Sakura is?"

"She's not here either," Karin replied.

"Then Kakashi," Sasuke said impatiently.

"Is he that silver-haired guy with the mask?" Karin asked. "He and Sakura left last week. I love how you just automatically assume that I know all of your old friends." Sasuke sighed again.

"Karin—" he started, but she cut him off.

"Look, if it's so important to you, why don't you just take it up with the elders?" she suggested.

"I can't do that!" Sasuke protested. Then, before he had a chance to process what was happening, about six shinobi clad entirely in black, save for white masks with red markings on them, ambushed him. They grabbed him from all directions, preventing him from moving at all. One of them pulled out a needle filled with a deep blue liquid and stabbed it into his arm. Sasuke could feel his body rapidly shutting down. "Why…" he mumbled.

"Consider it a 'Welcome Home' present," was the last thing he heard Karin say before he blacked out entirely.

* * *

Sakura didn't know what was happening. All she knew was that her headaches wouldn't stop. She could hear metal clashing and her teammates yelling, but that only made her headaches worse. Now it felt as if thousands of needles were being stabbed into her forehead and eyes, making it impossible for her to see. "Are you the one Madara-sama once?" she heard a feminine-sounding voice ask. _Haku?_ she thought. Then she heard Lee cry out in pain.

"Lee!" she yelled, but she still couldn't open her eyes.

"I highly doubt it," Haku continued. Kakashi cried out in pain.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried. She tried to open her eyes, but they felt as if they'd been sewn shut. She could feel Haku drawing closer to her, examining her from every possible angle. She wanted to open her eyes. She wanted to move so badly, to fight back and defend her teammates. When she finally opened her eyes, she felt as if she were opening them for the first time. "Leave them alone!" she yelled to the seven swordsmen who were attacking Kakashi, Gai, and Lee. Kakashi stared back at her in shock. Instead of green orbs, what stared back at him were pale eyes with black swirls.

"She is the one Madara-sama wants," Haku told the seven swordsmen. Sakura stood up slowly and pulled out her axe. She felt a strange energy well up inside her, energy that didn't feel like it would deplete any time soon. She slammed the blade of the axe into the ground, channeling as much chakra as she could into the blade. The ground quaked, causing everyone to fall off their feet. It was exhilarating; Sakura still had so much chakra left. She wasn't going to run out anytime soon, even if she didn't bother controlling it. She slammed her axe into the ground again, and the ground quaked again. The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist were gone. Sakura smirked triumphantly and placed her axe back in its sheath. Kakashi, Gai, and Lee all stared up at her, dumbfounded.

"What?" she asked, looking confused.

"Sakura-san…" Lee mumbled. Kakashi pointed to her.

"Your eyes…" he mumbled. Almost subconsciously, she reached up to touch her eyes. Just as she did so, she felt seven pairs of arms wrapping themselves around her. She shrieked as she was pulled backward.

"Yes, she is definitely the one Madara-sama wants," she heard a male voice say.

"He will certainly reward us once we bring her to him," another male voice said.

"Perhaps he will gift us with one of her Rinnegan," another one mused. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and reopened them. All the energy and chakra she had just a minute ago had quickly dissipated, leaving her weak and vulnerable. Before she could comprehend what was happening, she was being dragged away by the seven swordsmen with Kakashi, Lee, and Gai screaming her name…

* * *

"Impossible!" Morino Ibiki gasped. He had just used the most painful torture technique he knew on Uchiha Sasuke, and he _still_ hadn't cried out in pain or even grimaced. Ibiki glared at Sasuke. Was he completely impervious to pain? Maybe it was his Uchiha pride that kept him from showing any signs of feeling pain. "You still refuse to give me any information?" To Sasuke's surprise, Ibiki turned on his heel. He opened the door, where a random chuunin stood outside. "Bring Inoichi here," he ordered. Inoichi… wasn't that Ino's dad? What could he do that Ibiki couldn't? After a few minutes, a man with long blonde hair and green eyes entered the room. Sasuke now remembered what the Yamanaka clan specialized in: Mind Transfer Jutsu. Inoichi was going to enter his head. Inoichi stepped forward and placed his hand on top of Sasuke's head.

"Let's see what you know, Uchiha," he said as he entered Sasuke's mind.

XX

**So, a little recap on this chapter to clear up any confusion:**

**Sakura awakens the Rinnegan, thus alerting the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and Haku (now Edo summons) that she is the one Madara is searching for. Sakura is then captured by the seven swordsmen and taken to Akatsuki's base. Meanwhile, Sasuke talks to Nagato and learns that Sakura is, in fact, his daughter, and that there is a high chance of her getting the Rinnegan. He also learns that Nagato knew what Itachi was up to, but chose not to reveal anything. He travels back to Konoha to warn Sakura to stay away from Akatsuki, but, when he runs into Karin, he is captured and interrogated by Ibiki. When he doesn't reveal any information, Ibiki summons Inoichi, who proceeds to look into Sasuke's mind for information.**

**So why did I give Sakura an axe? There was a chapter title page with her with an axe right? Yeah I know, that whole title page had a bunch of symbolism in it and that axe was meant to symbolize her power, but… why not? Besides, Sakura + Rinnegan + axe = BADASS. **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	3. New Missions

The next thing Sakura knew, she was in a dark room illuminated by nothing but a flickering candle. She felt considerably weaker than usual, and she found it hard to move. It didn't take long to realize that she was tied up and that there were chakra restraints around her wrists and ankles. Sakura gave a heavy sigh. It didn't look like she was going to break out any time soon. "Hello, Sakura," greeted a voice that sent a chill down her spine.

"Madara…" Sakura whispered. She shifted, trying to break free of her bonds.

"I have learned some interesting things about you, Haruno Sakura," Madara said in a low voice. Sakura glared at him.

"If you want me to heal you or anyone else in Akatsuki, the answer's no," Sakura said automatically.

"Oh, I don't want you to heal anyone," Madara said. "Your medical abilities are the least of my concern at the moment. You see, you possess something I seek." Madara's mask was illuminated by the candlelight, and Sakura could see one Sharingan eye and another eye with a dark swirling pattern. "The Rinnegan."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sakura said shakily. Madara stepped closer towards her.

"Oh, but I think you do," he persisted. Sakura racked her brain for some memory to prove that she didn't have the Rinnegan, and then she froze. That sudden burst of energy she had. That influx of so much chakra that she felt as if she would never run out. Was _that_ the Rinnegan? Sakura's face twisted into an expression of horror as she realized the horrible truth. "Well?"

"I…" Sakura mumbled. She then shook her head. "No. It's not possible. I… I can't…" Madara leaned in close towards her.

"Focus a small bit of chakra to your eyes," he instructed. "Then you will see." Sakura didn't know why, but she obeyed him and focused some chakra to her eyes, shutting them as she did so. When she reopened them, she felt that sudden surge of energy she'd felt during the battle against the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. "Just as I thought." Madara turned on his heel and walked out the door. "I shall take my leave." The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist entered the room. "I'm sure you are familiar with these. They shall keep you company for now." Sakura eyed them all nervously. They all looked vicious and bloodthirsty, just like the horror stories she'd heard about them. She settled for staring at Zabuza, the one swordsman she knew. There was something different about him though. Her eyes drifted towards his belt. Of course. His sword wasn't there. Suddenly, there was a loud boom. All seven swordsmen looked around expectantly.

"What's going on?" one of them asked in a small voice.

"Who's there?" another one yelled in a stronger voice. Then the ceiling burst open, and the room was flooded with sunlight. A boy with silver hair and violet eyes, followed by a larger boy with auburn hair and equally orange eyes, yelled as he landed in the room.

"Peace out, suckers!" he yelled as he unsheathed a sword on his belt and held it out. Sakura's eyes widened at it; it was Zabuza's sword. Then there was an uproar.

"Suigetsu!" one of the seven swordsman yelled.

"Suigetsu?" another said in a small voice.

"Suigetsu," another asserted.

"Suigetsu!" another yelled.

"Suigetsu…" one of them mused.

"Who?" Sakura said faintly. The boy with the silver hair broke into a grin. Sakura noticed that all his teeth were razor sharp.

"Miss me?" he asked.

"That's my sword!" Zabuza yelled, pointing wildly at the sword Suigetsu was carrying.

"Yep," Suigetsu replied lazily. "Sucks for you." He glanced around the room. "'Sup, Mangetsu nii-chan? Long time, no see." One of them with silver hair smiled gently.

"Yes, Suigetsu," he said. "It's been a while."

"Yeah," Suigetsu said, sounding slightly dejected. "Anyway, we're here for…" He trailed off as his eyes fell on Sakura. Within seconds, he was by her side. "Well hello there." He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "A little pink damsel in distress. What do you say Juugo? Can we keep her?" Sakura turned her head away in disgust.

"Just untie me," she ordered, "and get these stupid chakra restraints off. I can take care of myself." Suigetsu didn't look too convinced.

"Yeah, I can see that," he said sarcastically. "All right, Juugo. We're taking Pinkie." His eyes fell on the sheathed axe near Sakura. "Hey, that's a pretty big axe you've got there. That _is_ yours, right?" Sakura sighed exasperatedly.

"Look," she said impatiently. "If you're here to save me, then just _get on with it_."

"Ok, ok!" Suigetsu said impatiently. The large boy, Juugo made his way over to Sakura and lifted her off the ground, and Suigetsu picked up her axe. "Farewell," he said to the seven swordsmen, waving his free hand. "It was nice seeing you again, men." He turned to the silver-haired boy, Mangetsu. "See you later, Mangetsu nii-chan." And with that, Suigetsu, Juugo, and Sakura left Akatsuki's base.

* * *

Inoichi gasped as he was planted back in reality. He couldn't believe what he just saw. He didn't even know if he wanted to believe it. Sasuke's eyes snapped open as well. He looked shocked, but having his privacy violated was probably part of his punishment. "Look," Inoichi said shakily. "There's no way your _mind_ can lie to me. But… I know what you're trying to do, but you don't have to do it. And… about the elders… they—"

"So you know everything," Sasuke said. Inoichi nodded slowly, and Sasuke swore under his breath.

"So Madara told you that your brother was really innocent and the Uchiha clan was evil, and so you convinced basically everyone you knew that you went insane and that you were going to destroy Konoha, but you _really_ planned on tearing Akatsuki down from the inside, and thus followed in your brother's footsteps," Inoichi said. "That's quite a story you have there." Sasuke sighed, already knowing where he was going with this. "But what shocks me most of all… is Sakura. How… her parents are civilians. I never knew she was adopted… at least, I don't think she mentioned anything to Ino."

"I don't think she mentioned anything to anyone at all," Sasuke clarified.

"So you _didn't _know about this," Inoichi said, to which Sasuke nodded. "And no one else on your team – well your _old_ team – knows."

"I would assume not," Sasuke replied stiffly. Inoichi let out a heavy sigh.

"Very well…" he said uncertainly. "While I certainly believe your story, the Kages will no doubt have a harder time believing it, considering that stunt you pulled in the Land of Iron, even if it _was_ just to sabotage Madara. While they cannot come here, we will have to take you to them." His eyes narrowed slightly. "You will have to tell all the Kages your story." Sasuke gulped.

"_All_ of them?" he asked.

"Yes," Inoichi replied. "All of them."

* * *

Sakura pulled the last of the chakra restraints off her left wrist and discarded it carelessly to her side, where the other three lay. She'd deactivated the Rinnegan for now; she still wasn't entirely sure of its capabilities. Suigetsu was walking back, having just scouted the area, and Juugo was leaning with his back against a tree, closing his eyes pensively. "You got a name, Pinkie?" Suigetsu asked.

"Um…" Sakura mumbled. "It's Sakura." Suigetsu nodded slowly.

"Yeah…" he said slowly. "I'm going to call you Pinkie." Sakura sighed. If someone was going to rescue her, she really hoped it would have been someone from the Allied Shinobi Forces. She didn't even know who these two boys were… they didn't have a forehead protector or anything.

"Sorry if I was a bit snappish back there…" Sakura apologized. Suigetsu shrugged.

"Can't be helped," he said. "No one's happy to be tied up with a bunch of chakra restraints on them." He leaned in so that his face was just inches away from hers. "But that eye thing you did back there… Can I see it?" Sakura shook her head.

"No," she answered slowly. "I don't know what it's capable of. I don't want to end up hurting anyone by accident. So far, all it's done is give me a burst of chakra, but other than that… I don't know…"

"Hey, no worries," Suigetsu said, leaning back lazily. "Right Juugo?" Sakura frowned. Suigetsu and Juugo… those names sure sounded familiar. "So where to, Pinkie? Juugo and I'll escort you there." Sakura suddenly gasped.

"Suigetsu and Juugo!" she cried out. They both looked slightly confused.

"Yes?" Juugo replied uncertainly. A wide grin broke across Sakura's face.

"Karin's looking for you two!" she said. "She told me to tell you guys that if I ever ran into you!" Suigetsu's eyes widened slightly.

"She is?" he asked. Sakura nodded quickly. "Do you know where she is?"

"She's in Konoha," Sakura replied. "And I'm headed there myself." Suigetsu shrugged.

"All righty then," he said finally. "We're off to Konoha."

* * *

When they finally took the blindfold off, Sasuke found that he was no longer in Konoha. Wherever he was looked foreign and unfamiliar. What made matters worse was that the Raikage was towering above him, glaring at him. He lifted Sasuke by the collar of his shirt. "What are you doing here, you Uchiha runt?" he spat.

"I—" Sasuke started, but the Raikage cut him off.

"Don't play dumb with me!" he yelled, shaking Sasuke violently. Sasuke was now several inches off the ground, up to the Raikage's height. "Don't think you're off the hook just because Bee's ok!"

"But I didn't—" The Raikage suddenly dropped Sasuke, who landed unceremoniously on his behind.

"Don't make excuses, you bastard!" the Raikage yelled.

"Um…" a female voice piped up from behind the Raikage. "Raikage-sama… Tsunade-sama said she wanted to take over for now." Sasuke peered behind the Raikage. It was the other black-haired woman who worked with Tsunade. The one with the pig. What was her name again? The Raikage glared at Sasuke.

"Just watch yourself, Uchiha," he said, glowering. The woman remained behind as the Raikage stalked off.

"Um… Sasuke-kun, Tsunade-sama would like to see you," she said. Sasuke nodded quickly as he followed the woman into a room completely empty save for one blonde woman sitting at the table. The black-haired woman left the room as soon as Sasuke entered.

"Sit down, Sasuke," the blonde woman, Tsunade, ordered. Sasuke obeyed without question. Tsunade pulled out a bottle and poured some clear liquid into a glass. "Now I've heard some interesting things about you from Inoichi." She sipped the glass and sighed contently. "Things that would make Naruto wet his pants and Sakura jump off a cliff." Sasuke fidgeted nervously. "Now, Inoichi studied every nook and cranny of your brain." Tsunade smiled sympathetically. "Looks like you had it rough, kid." Sasuke sighed.

"None of this was supposed to happen…" he said in a low voice. "I was going to find out as soon as Itachi was dead, but—"

"Complications arose," Tsunade finished. "Believe me, I understand." Tsunade clasped her hands together. "So I'm assuming that you're on our side now… or rather, you were always on our side to begin with. First things first, you need to prove to everyone that you're really on our side. I can vouch for you here, so that should hopefully be enough to convince the people from other villages that you're trustworthy. It's the Konoha shinobi that's the problem. Considering that you apparently went so insane that even Sakura felt the need to kill you off, your best bet would be to convince Sakura that you're really not insane." Sasuke shrugged.

"That doesn't sound so bad," he commented. Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Sasuke, the last time you had a face-to-face conversation with her without trying to kill each other was almost three years ago," she stated matter-of-factly. "She's changed a lot since then. It'll take a lot to convince her to trust you." Tsunade smirked slightly. "Assuming that you have all your limbs still intact when she finally does."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sasuke asked, raising his eyebrows. Tsunade just shook her head.

"Why don't you start small?" she suggested. "Go talk to Naruto first. Out of everyone, he's most likely to trust you. Explain everything, starting from when Itachi died." Tsunade sighed. "As for Sakura… I don't really know. I think getting the Rinnegan coupled with you coming back would be too much for her to handle."

"Where is she now?" Sasuke asked.

"In Akatsuki's base," Tsunade replied sadly. Sasuke swore colorfully. "They… they captured her." Suddenly, the black-haired woman burst into the room.

"Tsunade-sama!" she called. There was a wide grin on her face. "I have great news!"

"What is it, Shizune?" Tsunade asked. Shizune's grin grew wider.

"It's about Sakura," she replied. Sasuke stiffened slightly in his seat. "She's ok! She escaped! She's on her way back to Konoha right now!" Tsunade gave a tremendous sigh of relief, and Sasuke relaxed slightly.

"Is that all?" Tsunade asked, not even bothering to stop the smile that was spreading across her face. Shizune nodded before bowing her head and leaving the room. Tsunade sighed again. "Well that just took a tremendous weight off my chest. But still. You need to talk to Naruto. Don't worry about being stealthy about it. Stealth isn't what you need for this mission… You _did_ need stealth when you tried sneaking back into Konoha, but… let's face it. You're more obvious than Naruto. Marching straight into Konoha in broad daylight was _not_ the best idea." Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't the first one to say that. "But just fill Naruto in all of this and we'll take it from there. Now go. I have to inform the Raikage of the recent turn of events. Did I mention that he would be the one accompanying you to find Naruto? After all, it's _his_ brother Naruto's training with." Sasuke stiffened and nodded before leaving the room.

XX

**So… recap. Sakura was captured by Akatsuki and held hostage, but before Madara could do anything with her, Suigetsu and Juugo set her free. Why Suigetsu and Juugo? Because they're awesome. Once outside Akatsuki's base, Suigetsu and Juugo agree to escort Sakura back to Konoha, who tells them that Karin is waiting for them there. Meanwhile, Inoichi scrutinizes every nook and cranny of Sasuke's mind and learns that Sasuke is really innocent. He then sends Sasuke to the meeting place of the five Kages, where he talks to Tsunade. Tsunade orders him to find Naruto and inform him of the recent turn of events. She then tells him that the Raikage will be accompanying him on his mission. The only problem is that Sasuke is scared shitless of the Raikage.**

… **Yes I know the Zabuza Edo summon has his sword in the manga, not Suigetsu. By the way, is anyone else overjoyed that Kishi FINALLY remembered him and brought him back? Because Suigetsu is the most awesome character in the manga. As for the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, if their personalities tended to run together, it's because Kishi hasn't given them any distinct personalities yet. As for Mangetsu, I have no idea what his relationship was with Suigetsu, so I just had them on kind of friendly terms with each other, but not ultra close.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. Getting to Know Each Other

Sakura sat on her knees, rubbing two twigs together, desperately trying to get a fire going. It was so windy, every time the pile of twigs would ignite, the wind would just blow the fire out. Sakura really wished she had Sasuke's fireball jutsu. Unless… Sakura glanced around nervously. Suigetsu and Juugo left to look for food, and it didn't look like they would be back soon. Sakura activated her Rinnegan and stared at the pile of twigs and sticks on the ground. She shut her eyes as she tried to remember how Sasuke performed that jutsu… Yes, of course. It was horse, then tiger, then ram, then monkey, then boar, then horse, and then tiger. She'd seen him perform those same hand seals dozens of times. Sakura performed the hand seals slowly. She remembered that the fire came out of Sasuke's mouth, almost like he was regurgitating it. She focused some chakra to her stomach and whispered, "Katon: Goukayuu no Jutsu." Then it felt like Sakura's insides were burning up with a heat so intense, she thought she was going to die. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Instead, a small fireball no bigger than the size of her fist flew out of her mouth and planted itself on the pile of twigs, igniting all of them. Sakura deactivated her Rinnegan almost immediately and slumped forward. Did Sasuke go through this every time he performed this jutsu?

"We're back!" Suigetsu called. Sakura lifted her head weakly and gave a faint smile. Suigetsu and Juugo were walking over, their arms full of fish. Sakura frowned.

"We don't need _that_ much food," she said.

"Juugo does," Suigetsu said. "Now usually I don't like eating fish, but considering that you don't even have food pills with you, I'll make an exception." Sakura gave a heavy sigh.

"Getting captured by Akatsuki was obviously _not_ part of the plan…" she grumbled.

"No worries," Suigetsu said casually. "You're safe now, you're going back home, Juugo and I can _finally_ find Karin, and you've got a kickass eye jutsu to _boot_."

"Um… Suigetsu…" Juugo piped up. Sakura looked up. Juugo was always so quiet. Why was he suddenly speaking up now? He looked rather uncomfortable. "I think I'm going to…" A look of horror crossed over Suigetsu's face.

"Uh oh," he said.

"What?" Sakura asked. "What's going on?" Fiery red marks appeared all over Juugo's face and body. "Whoa!"

"Not again!" Suigetsu yelled. "Juugo almost killed me the last time this happened!" He tossed Sakura a pleading look. "_Please_ tell me you have at least _some_ experience in curse seals, Pinkie!"

"Um…" Sakura mumbled awkwardly. She never did have much experience in curse seals. The last time she had to do anything about a curse seal was when Sasuke was still in Konoha. She could still remember all those times when she had to perform some seals on Sasuke's curse seal to keep it at bay without Kakashi or Naruto knowing. It happened almost every time they went on a mission. "I… I could perform some seals on it."

"That doesn't work!" Suigetsu yelled. "We tried that already!" The marks covered Juugo's body and a wicked grin covered his face.

"Kill…" he growled. "Kill, kill, KILL!" Sakura gasped.

"The only thing that works is the Sharingan!" Suigetsu continued. Sakura nodded, already knowing what to do. She shut her eyes.

"This better work," she whispered. When she reopened her eyes, she had her Rinnegan activated. "Settle down, Juugo." Almost instantly, the marks disappeared from Juugo's body. A look of horror crossed his face.

"No…" he whimpered. "I shouldn't have left… I shouldn't have left…" Sakura deactivated her Rinnegan quickly and moved to Juugo's side.

"It's ok," she said consolingly, rubbing his arm gently. "You didn't have any control over it. It's not your fault." She shut her eyes pensively. "It happened to one of my friends, actually. When he first woke up from the curse seal, he got so mad that he almost tore off this guy's arms. He was going to kill him and his teammates if someone didn't stop him." Sakura gave an involuntary shudder. "It was kind of scary, seeing him like that. I mean, Sasuke-kun never—"

"Whoa!" Suigetsu interrupted her. "Sasuke? Since when do you know _Sasuke_?" Sakura sighed. She really didn't want to be having this conversation with them.

"He was my teammate," she explained sadly. "It's all Orochimaru's fault. If he hadn't given him the curse seal in the Chuunin Exams, he never would have left…" Sakura sighed. "Let's just drop the subject, ok?" She took one of the fish from Suigetsu, stabbed it with a stick, and held it over the fire.

* * *

Sasuke sat, staring intently at the pot hovering over the fire in front of him. It had taken him just seconds to light it with his Goukayuu fireball. The warm feeling that enveloped him whenever he performed it was comforting. He could just picture sitting in the forest with Sakura and Naruto during a mission. Now all he had was the Raikage to keep him company. The two had barely said ten words to each other throughout the three days they'd been traveling, and Sasuke was thankful for it. A chill would creep up his spine every time the Raikage was so much as three feet away from him.

The sound of footsteps snapped Sasuke back to attention. The Raikage stalked over and dumped a variety of herbs and berries. Sasuke muttered a quick "thank you" and began to examine each of the berries and herbs the Raikage brought, discarding some and throwing the rest into the pot. Sasuke stirred the mixture in the pot slowly, then poured some into a bowl and handed it to the Raikage. The Raikage took a sip. A confused look crossed his face before he spit it out. "Is it bad?" Sasuke couldn't help but ask.

"You're trying to poison me, aren't you, you little Uchiha runt?" the Raikage growled. Sasuke frowned in confusion.

"No…" he denied. "Why would I do that?"

"I don't know!" the Raikage yelled in frustration. "But this is way too good to be mission food!" The Raikage glared at the reddish mixture in the bowl in front of him. "There's no way you could have made _this_ with random berries and herbs in the forest. You must have put something else in."

"You were here the whole time I was cooking," Sasuke pointed out as he took a sip. He grimaced slightly. "It could use a little salt."

"Salt?" the Raikage repeated. "_Salt_? What is that, some Uchiha code word for poison?"

"No," Sasuke replied smoothly. "I mean salt, as in the seasoning you put on your food to make it taste less bland."

"Do you take me for an idiot?" the Raikage growled. "I know what salt is! Don't be a smartass about it, Uchiha!"

"Sorry," Sasuke apologized almost immediately. "And I'm not trying to poison you." The Raikage devoured his bowl within seconds.

"Well in that case, get me another bowl, Uchiha." Sasuke poured another bowl without question. After several minutes, Sasuke had finished two bowls. The Raikage was just about to pour himself an eighth bowl, but there was no more food left. "Man, I'm stuffed."

"Then you shouldn't have eaten so much," Sasuke retorted.

"What was that, Uchiha?" the Raikage growled. Sasuke just shook his head.

"Nothing."

* * *

Sakura stood behind Juugo, who had slumped to his knees on the ground. His shirt was off, and black lines marked his bare back. "I-Is this going to hurt?" Juugo stammered. Sakura shook her head and smiled.

"Not at all," she replied confidently, "but you're going to feel kind of weak after this." Juugo shook his head.

"I don't care," he said. "Just get rid of it." Sakura sighed.

"I can't get rid of your curse seal completely, Juugo-san," she said, "but I can seal it so that you have better control over it." She smiled good-naturedly. "If you ever lose control, I can always seal it again, so you have no reason to worry."

"Thank you, Sakura-san," Juugo said, smiling himself. By now, Sakura was focusing on performing the seal.

"Sure, Sasuke-kun," she replied absentmindedly. Juugo snapped his head upward.

"What?" he said. "Why did you call me Sasuke?" Sakura fell silent, and Juugo smiled sympathetically. "Suigetsu told me you two were teammates. You performed this seal on his curse seal all the time, didn't you?"

"Not all the time," Sakura refuted. "Just every time we went on a mission."

"Which was probably all the time," Juugo clarified. Sakura sighed.

"Yeah… As soon as the Chuunin Exams were over, I begged Kakashi-sensei to teach me how to perform the seal. Also, Sasuke-kun would always try to hide it whenever his curse seal acted up."

"But you could still tell, right?" Juugo asked.

"I was the only one who could. He never really touched the curse seal physically, but he always had this look on his face. Whenever his curse seal acted up, he'd come straight to me. He always said it was because Kakashi-sensei wouldn't let him do anything during the mission if he found out and he didn't want Naruto to know, so—"

"Naruto's your other teammate, right? So why do you know when he doesn't?"

"Orochimaru gave Sasuke-kun the curse seal during the second part of the Chuunin Exams. Naruto was unconscious when it happened, and Sasuke-kun made me swear not to tell him."

"Did you?" Sakura paused.

"Yeah… Eventually…" By now Sakura had finished performing the seal. "There. It's done. How are you feeling?" Juugo had now slumped forward.

"Weak." Sakura chuckled softly.

"Don't worry," she said. "It's always like that the first time. It'll get better the more people use that seal on you." Juugo smiled.

"Thank you, Sakura-san," he said sincerely. "Even after I lost control of my curse seal and tried to attack you, you still forgave me for it and helped me control it. Thank you." Sakura smiled.

"Don't mention it."

* * *

Sasuke and the Raikage stood on a cliff, overlooking a giant island in the sea. The strangest part was that that island was _moving._ "The island's _moving_," Sasuke said, dumbfounded.

"No shit," the Raikage replied. "It's a giant turtle." Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, but he said nothing.

"How are we supposed to get there?" Sasuke asked. "Isn't it sealed off or something?"

"Yeah," the Raikage affirmed, "but I have the key to those seals. That's why I'm the one accompanying you. I'm the only one with the key. My brother _is_ down there, after all." Sasuke gulped, not looking forward to a reunion with Killer Bee. "I still haven't forgiven you for that, you know." Sasuke nodded.

"I know," he said quietly.

"It doesn't matter how innocent you or anyone else says you are," the Raikage continued. "You fought him at full strength. At least, that's what Bee said."

"I didn't have a choice," Sasuke explained. The Raikage scoffed.

"Bull shit," he retorted. Sasuke shook his head.

"No," he said. "I didn't have a choice. I was going to die if I didn't fight at full strength." The Raikage threw Sasuke an incredulous look.

"No kidding?" he said. "You mean you were fighting at full strength so you could _survive_?" Sasuke nodded.

"Just thought I should let you know," he finished. "So about that island…"

* * *

"Madara-sama," Kabuto addressed. "I'm so sorry to say that Sasuke-kun has betrayed us." Madara's fingers curled into fists.

"It was only a matter of time," he said in what he hoped sounded like a light tone. "It was only a matter of time until he came to terms with his past and followed in Itachi's footsteps." Kabuto shook his head.

"No," he refuted. "I mean he was never on our side to begin with." Madara stared ahead at the open window. A crow was perched on the windowsill, pecking at something. Within seconds, the crow was caught in black flames. It cried out in pain and agony before disappearing entirely, along with the black flames.

"At least we still have Haruno Sakura," Madara practically growled. "We still have a pair of perfectly good Rinnegans." Right on cue, Haku burst into the room.

"Um… Madara-sama…" he said nervously. "Haruno Sakura has escaped." Madara diverted his attention to the fireplace, where several logs lay. Black flames engulfed the logs, causing intense heat to spread across the room.

"Kabuto," Madara hissed. "Seal Nagato's soul immediately." Kabuto smirked.

"As you wish, Madara-sama," he said before leaving the room.

XX

**So not much going on in this chapter, compared to the previous three, but this chapter was meant more for character interactions than for action. Basically the Raikage comes to terms with Sasuke's predicament and acknowledges that Sasuke is really innocent. Sakura gets to know Suigetsu and Juugo a little more. When Juugo loses control of his curse seal, Sakura uses her Rinnegan to snap him out of his rage and proceeds to perform a seal on his curse seal, letting him and Suigetsu know that she was once Sasuke's teammate. Meanwhile, Madara finds out that Sasuke betrayed him and that Sakura escaped, prompting him to seal Nagato's soul.**

**I always liked playing around with the idea of Sasuke being an amazing cook. Think about it: his parents have been dead for eight years. Everyone said he took after his mother, so maybe he was just a natural at cooking.**

**I would REALLY appreciate it if you guys actually reviewed in addition to faving ****Also, in your review, can you add constructive criticism as well? Thanks for reviewing!**


	5. Home Again

Sasuke and the Raikage ran through the forest in search of Naruto and Killer Bee. "Is this really a turtle?" Sasuke couldn't help but ask.

"Can't feel it moving?" the Raikage shot back. "That's the point. That kid Naruto's not supposed to know he's on the back of a giant turtle." Sasuke couldn't come up with any logical comeback, so he fell silent. At long last, they reached a clearing where Killer Bee and Naruto trained together. "Yo!" the Raikage shouted. "Bee!" Killer Bee stopped whatever he was doing and looked up. He waved at the Raikage.

"Yo, bro!" he called back. Sasuke took this opportunity to hide behind the Raikage as inconspicuously as possible. He couldn't help but notice how beat up Naruto looked. Naruto recognized him immediately.

"Sasuke?" he said. Sasuke mentally swore (as he did often; was he developing a split personality like Sakura?) as he stepped out from behind the Raikage. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you," Sasuke said.

"Look, I don't want to fight you right now," Naruto said as if Sasuke hadn't said a word.

"I don't want to fight you either!" Sasuke yelled, balling his hands into fists. "I need to talk to you! In private!" Naruto's eyes widened suddenly.

"Whoa, teme," he said, holding his hands out in front of himself. "I'm glad you feel that way about me, but I'm not like that. Really." Bee and the Raikage sniggered, and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself," he said dryly. "It's about Sakura."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto said cheerfully. "How is she?" A look of horror crossed his face. "You didn't kill her, did you?"

"No!" Sasuke yelled. "Why the hell would I do that?"

"I don't know, but you almost did that at the Land of Iron~" Naruto yelled back.

"That's only because Zetsu and Madara were watching!" Sasuke shouted. A look of confusion crossed Naruto's face.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Look kid," the Raikage interjected. "Long story short, the Uchiha runt's innocent. He's been trying to tear Akatsuki down from the inside by convincing everyone that he went insane with grief or some other crap like that." Naruto stared wide-eyed at Sasuke.

"Really?" he asked. Sasuke nodded seriously.

"Yes, now do you want to hear about Sakura or not?" he said impatiently.

"All right," Naruto said as he walked away, beckoning for Sasuke to follow. "This way."

* * *

Sakura stood at the gates of Konoha. The streets were deserted; Tsunade had all the civilians evacuate to a neighboring village until the war was over. She couldn't help but wonder if her own parents – _adopted_ parents, that is – managed to escape as well. She sighed, knowing that she might not ever see them again. "Seriously, I don't know what Sasuke has against this place," Suigetsu commented as he gazed around. "It doesn't look _that_ bad."Juugo was smiling sentimentally to himself.

"I think it's nice," he said softly. "It's so peaceful." Sakura scoffed.

"As if," she retorted. "It's everything _but_ peaceful."

"So where's Karin?" Suigetsu asked. Fortunately, they didn't have to look far.

"Suigetsu!" Karin was running over, smiling. When she arrived she threw her arms around Suigetsu and hugged him tightly. Both he and Juugo looked shocked.

"Karin…" Suigetsu mumbled faintly. "What the hell…"

"Well there's something you don't see every day," Juugo commented, smiling. Sakura smiled as well.

"I think it's sweet," she said.

"Just wait," Juugo told her. "She'll beat him into a puddle soon enough." Just as he said this, Sakura saw Karin trying to smack Suigetsu, who kept turning into water every time she tried to hit him.

"You idiot!" Karin shrieked. "What the hell were you thinking, staying there in the Land of Iron? With _Juugo_ of all people?"

"Come on, Karin!" Suigetsu whined. "Give me _some_ credit! I kept Juugo under control!" Sakura just continued to smile.

"I can see now what Sasuke-kun saw in all of you," she whispered to Juugo as she watched Karin attempt to beat Suigetsu into a puddle.

"What's that?" Juugo asked. Sakura's smile grew wider as Karin finally managed to get a hit on Suigetsu, who glared at her in return.

"Team Seven."

* * *

"What?" Naruto yelled as Sasuke finished his explanation. "Sakura-chan is Nagato's _daughter_? Since when?" Sasuke opened his mouth to answer, but Naruto cut him off. "Wait, but that would mean she's adopted! Did she tell you she was adopted?"

"No," Sasuke replied slowly. "She didn't tell you, did she?"

"Did she tell _anyone_?" Naruto asked. Sasuke sighed.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. Naruto crossed his arms and frowned.

"So let me get this straight," he said. "Ever since Madara told you about Itachi, you've been trying to follow in his footsteps by staying in Akatsuki and trying to tear it down from the inside."

"That's correct," Sasuke affirmed.

"But you didn't tell anyone about your plans," Naruto continued. "Anyone _at all_." Sasuke nodded. "And then, at the Land of Iron, you staged your whole… _invasion_… to make it seem like you went insane."

"Yes," Sasuke drawled out.

"And then you used this form of the Chidori on Karin-chan that was meant to _paralyze _her, not kill her, and then used a milder version of _that_ on Sakura-chan."

"Yes," Sasuke said again.

"All this because you knew Madara and Zetsu were watching. And while you were doing all of this, you abused your eyes so much that you almost went blind, and then you took Itachi's eyes so that Madara couldn't get them and left your bad ones behind. And then after that, Madara told you about this whole Sakura-chan thing and then you got caught in Konoha and ended up here." Sasuke nodded again. "But how do you know for sure that Sakura-chan's Nagato's daughter?"

"Nagato confirmed it," Sasuke answered. "He said he looked a lot like… well I'm pretty sure he meant her mother, but—"

"Konan, right?" Naruto said. He then sniggered mischievously. "I knew there was something going on between them!" Sasuke sighed. Naruto really hadn't changed.

"So are you coming or not?" Sasuke asked somewhat irritably.

"Where?" Naruto asked, a confused look crossing his face.

"To Konoha," Sasuke said.

"To do what?" Naruto asked.

"To protect Sakura!" Sasuke practically growled. "Haven't you been listening to a word I said?"

"All right then!" Naruto said. "Let's go back to Konoha!" Sasuke nodded again before turning. Suddenly…

"We're under attack!" someone shouted. Just as Sasuke heard this, he saw someone with silvery hair with a reddish tint to it and eyes with black swirls.

It was Nagato.

* * *

Sakura stirred her ramen aimlessly with her chopsticks. Coming to Ichiraku's with Suigetsu was not the same as coming with Naruto, although it made a close second. It turned out that Suigetsu also loved ramen, but not to the point of obsession like Naruto. Juugo enjoyed it as well, and Karin simply tolerated it.

"This is really good ramen, Sakura-san," Juugo commented after a mouthful. Sakura smiled faintly.

"Ichiraku's _does_ have a reputation of being the best place to get ramen in Konoha," she said dryly.

"I can see why," Suigetsu said, his mouth filled with food. Karin smacked him upside the head.

"Swallow before you talk, you idiot!" she growled. Suigetsu glared at her and then swallowed.

"So, Sakura-chan, have any embarrassing Sasuke stories?" he asked casually. Sakura took a sip of water.

"I have Sasuke stories, but I don't think any of them are embarrassing," she replied.

"Shut up and tell us," Karin ordered. Sakura smirked.

"He'll kill me," she said. "Literally."

"No he won't!" Karin objected. "He likes you too much." Sakura scoffed.

"What did I say that made you think _that_?" she retorted. Karin twirled her hair with her finger.

"I don't know," she said slowly. "All those times he protected you, all those times he was really nice to you."

"We were _teammates_," Sakura clarified. "If he wasn't nice, he'd be dead right now." Karin held her finger up in the air.

"You know, Ino and Shikamaru told me that he had a thing for touching you," she continued. Sakura's eyes widened.

"He did _not_," she denied.

"Well they said you guys hugged," Karin said simply.

"Yeah," Sakura said through gritted teeth. "_I_ hugged _him_."

"Yeah," Karin replied, smirking. "And he _let_ you."

"The curse seal took over his body!" Sakura insisted.

"And then you had this _magic_ touch that made it recede," Karin teased.

"And then he came to you every time he felt his curse seal going out of control so that you could seal it up again," Juugo added. "And all those times were a secret between you two." Sakura puffed her cheeks.

"Come on, Juugo, I thought you were on my side!" she yelled.

"Wait," Suigetsu said, grinning broadly. "Since when do you acknowledge that Sakura-chan is competition for Sasuke's affections and since when are you _ok_ with it?" Karin leaned back in her chair.

"Since I stopped liking him," Karin replied casually. Suigetsu's jaw dropped open.

"No way!" he yelled. "I didn't even think that was possible!"

"I didn't think it was possible for her to hug you either," Juugo said quietly. Both Suigetsu and Karin glared at him for this comment.

"Now, you know what I'd like to see?" Suigetsu asked. "A Sharingan vs. Awesome Swirly Eye Jutsu battle." Sakura raised her eyebrows.

"The Rinnegan, you mean?" she asked. Suigetsu waved his hand dismissively.

"Yeah, that," he said evasively. "That would be epic." Sakura sighed.

"That _would_, if I had the faintest idea how to use the Rinnegan," she said sadly. "So far the only thing it's good for is giving me a burst of chakra, seeing other people's chakra, and copying a jutsu I've seen performed a hundred times." Karin rubbed her chin.

"I think I remember Madara wanting something to do with an Uchiha cave or hideout or something," she said. "There's some writing on the wall there that can only be read with the Rinnegan." Sakura's eyes averted to the floor.

"No wonder he wants my Rinnegan then," she said morosely. Karin glared at her.

"You're such a doormat!" she accused. "Go to that Uchiha cavern secret hideout place and read it yourself! Who knows? You could probably use that against him." Sakura smirked.

"You're right," she whispered. She fished out her purse and slapped a bill down on the table before getting up.

"Where are you going?" Suigetsu asked.

"Uchiha cavern!" Sakura yelled. She was already several feet away from them, and she didn't stop even once to look back.

XX

**Recap:**

**Sasuke and the Raikage reach the island where Naruto and Killer Bee are. Sasuke tells Naruto everything, but before they can leave, Nagato arrives and attacks them. Meanwhile, Sakura, Suigetsu, and Juugo arrive in Konoha. When she treats them to ramen at Ichiraku's, Karin points out that she can use her Rinnegan to read the writing on the wall of the abandoned Uchiha hideout. Sakura leaves to do so, leaving Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo behind.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	6. The Writing on the Wall

Naruto and Sasuke eyed Nagato warily. Nagato's Rinnegan was flashing dangerously, and Sasuke gulped as he activated his Sharingan. "Can you at least talk us out of this one?" he whispered to Naruto. Naruto was sweating bullets.

"I don't think he'll listen," he muttered back. Sasuke swore.

"He's an Edo summon," he said. "Impure World Resurrection." Sasuke studied Nagato's features. His face was blank, impassive. "And it looks like his soul was sealed too. Basically, he's just a mindless soldier to Madara now."

"Wonderful," Naruto said dryly. "Let's try not to die, shall we?"

"Don't use the Kyuubi unless you absolutely have to," Sasuke warned.

"Yeah, you don't use the Mangekyou Sharingan unless you really need to either," Naruto shot back. Sasuke nodded as he sent a Chidori Nagashi shooting towards Nagato. Nagato dodged it cleanly, along with six others Sasuke shot. He even jumped out of the way of five or six of Naruto's Kage Bunshins trying to tackle him. After several Chidoris, hundreds of Kage Bunshins, and a few Rasengans, Sasuke and Naruto finally managed to land a hit on Nagato. Of course by now, both Sasuke and Naruto's chakra levels had dropped significantly. "What are we going to do?" Naruto yelled. "We just barely hit him!" Sasuke froze as he remembered his fight with Danzo. He remembered how Danzo just somehow managed to warp reality with all those Sharingans on his arm. Could he use that jutsu as well? There was only one way to find out.

Sasuke powered up his Mangekyou Sharingan and glared at Nagato, who was standing at a comfortable distance from him. He shut his eyes.

"_Izanagi_."

* * *

Sakura flipped open the red commonplace book Tsunade had given to her on her fourteenth birthday and pulled out a pen. She activated her Rinnegan and stared at the wall ahead of her. What was once a jumbled mess of kanji was now a neat and orderly script. Sakura smirked. "Perfect," she whispered to herself. The top line was neat and clear: "The Code of the Sage of the Six Paths". Sakura frowned. Madara just wanted a history lesson? The kanji covered the entire wall, and, as Sakura kept reading, she found each point more and more surprising.

_Hiroshi and Akihiro, if you are reading this, you are too late, for I am already dead._ Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Who were Hiroshi and Akihiro? _I could never be more proud of you, my two sons. _Sakura only grew more confused. Why was the Sage of the Six Paths, whoever he was, writing a message to his two sons in kanji that they probably couldn't even read? Sakura stared at the translation of the writing on the wall in her commonplace book. _I am glad that you two have finally gotten past your differences, as that is the only way you can read this now. Hiroshi, Akihiro, remember this: you two are incredibly strong alone, but if you combine forces, you can obtain the power required to change this very earth._ There was a blank space, and then, several inches lower: _Only Senju and Uchiha together can bring about world peace._ Sakura couldn't help smiling. That meant that Naruto and Sasuke would have to work together to save the world. The script seemed to end there, but farther down, near the floor, was an entirely different script. This one was much harder for Sakura to decipher.

_Yuna_, it read. _I have entrusted the Rinnegan to you. Cherish it. Pass it down to your descendants, but do not just give it to those strong only in body; give it to those strong in mind as well. But pass it down only if Hiroshi and Akihiro do not reconcile. _Suddenly, the kanji on the wall dissolved into one unintelligible blur. Sakura jumped back as the kanji reformed itself into something entirely different. _If you are reading this on the strength of the Rinnegan alone, I can only assume that my daughter Yuna has failed in reconciling Hiroshi and Akihiro._ The kanji shifted again. _Senju and Uchiha must be joined together to achieve world peace. If they do not reconcile within one thousand years time, the world will end. The world cannot be saved by the strength of the Rinnegan alone. Your task is to reconcile Uchiha and Senju._ The kanji shifted one final time. _The fate of the world lies in your hands._

* * *

Sasuke stared Nagato down. "Sasuke, what the hell are you doing?" Naruto shouted. Sasuke just focused on Nagato and tried to recreate Danzo's jutsu. It took Danzo about a dozen Sharingans embedded into his arm to perform the jutsu. Could Sasuke really do it with just two? He shut his eyes and tried to picture an alternate reality. One where Nagato was never an Edo summon… one where Nagato never died. He imagined a happy, smiling Nagato with bright red hair (something Naruto said he had) and green eyes like Sakura's, free of the Rinnegan. He reopened his eyes and stared at Nagato, willing the frail, ghostly man to return to the incredibly strong man who led Akatsuki for so many years. He tried to focus on this image, but another crossed his mind and wouldn't leave. It was one of Sakura. She appeared like she had in Team Seven's photo, smiling in glee, but instead of Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi with her, it was Nagato, also smiling warmly as well.

Then it felt as if Sasuke's right eye was being slashed open with a kunai laced with salt. Sasuke cried out in pain as he clutched his eye with one hand. He forced his free eye open and swore he could see color returning to Nagato's hair, although his Rinnegan didn't disappear. Sasuke shut his eye again. Sakura should be _happy_. Nagato had to live! His left eye burst with pain as well. Sasuke cried out in pain again. Sasuke felt his chakra rapidly depleting, and he collapsed onto his knees. He could hear Naruto shouting his name, but he couldn't see anything. He almost didn't _want_ to see anything. It wasn't long before he couldn't hear anything either. Everything was just black.

* * *

Sakura rushed through the streets of Konoha, not really sure where she was going, not really sure if she had a destination to begin with. Why did Madara want to find out what was written on the wall of that Uchiha cavern so badly? Did he think the wall said how to control the world? Well it didn't, so what was Sakura supposed to do? Reconcile Uchiha and Senju? That was just Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura shuddered as she remembered what Naruto had said: if he and Sasuke fought, they would both die.

Yuna… she was the Sage's daughter, and her duty was to reconcile her two brothers Akihiro and Hiroshi. Sakura knew that Hiroshi's descendants were the Uchiha and Akihiro's were the Senju… but who were Yuna's descendants? Sakura knew for a fact that she was one of them – why else would she have the Rinnegan? But what was the damn family _name_? Sakura knew that Senju branched into the Sarutobis and that the Uchihas were just… Uchiha… but what were Yuna's descendants?

Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts when she walked right into someone. "Sorry," Sakura mumbled automatically.

"Sakura?" Sakura looked up. It was Tsunade.

"Oh!" Sakura gasped as she snapped into attention. "Tsunade-sama! You're back!" Tsunade smiled.

"Yup," she replied. She frowned slightly. "Are you ok? You look kind of distracted." Sakura forced herself to look away from Tsunade.

"Um…"

"Is it because of the Rinnegan?" she asked. Sakura's eyes snapped up. Did word about it spread that quickly? How many people knew? But still…

"No," Sakura replied. "It's more to do with my… _real_ family." Tsunade smiled sympathetically.

"I know," she said. "Kakashi told me you were adopted."

"Tsunade-sama…" Sakura said quietly. "Do you know anything about the Sage of the Six Paths?" Tsunade frowned.

"A little," she replied. "Why?"

"Because…" Sakura said slowly. "Karin said that Madara wanted the Rinnegan so that he could read the writing on a wall in this Uchiha cavern, so I went there myself and tried to read it… Well… I _could_ read it, but I don't really understand what it means."

"What did it say?" Tsunade asked. Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but Tsunade cut her off. "Wait. Let's not blab this to the whole village. Let's go to my office. We'll finish this discussion there."

**Recap:**

**Sasuke and Naruto fight Nagato, but to no avail. Since Nagato is an Edo summon and he has the Rinnegan, he is too powerful for them to defeat. So Sasuke resorts to a jutsu he saw Danzo perform: Izanagi. He tries to warp reality so that Nagato lives and is not an Edo summon, but the results of Izanagi are still unknown. Meanwhile, Sakura tries to decipher the writing on the wall of the Naka Shrine with her Rinnegan. She learns that the Sage of the Six Paths, who lived over a thousand years ago, had three children: Hiroshi, Akihiro, and Yuna. Hiroshi's descendants are the Uchiha and Akihiro's descendants are the Senju. Hiroshi and Akihiro are enemies, and it is Yuna's task to bring them back together to save the world, as world peace can only be achieved if the Uchiha and the Senju work together. The Sage of the Six Paths gifted Yuna with the Rinnegan and instructed her to pass it down to the strongest of her descendants, both physically and mentally. Sakura acknowledges that she is one of Yuna's descendants, but she doesn't know what other families or clans could be Yuna's descendants. **

**So… yeah, I know it's a way shorter chapter than usual, but please bear with me! Also, have any of you noticed that you know just about as much about Sakura's past as you do about Tenten's? That's saying a lot. As for the whole Hiroshi-Akihiro-Yuna thing… I kind of made that up. **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	7. A Link to the Past

**Just a thought, you know what I'd really LOVE to see in the manga? AN EPIC SAKURA VS. ITACHI FIGHT! Including the awesome badass Sakura that pwned Sasori, not the one who cries at the drop of a hat. I think she could actually win or at LEAST stand a chance against him because she's a natural at genjutsu. Another thing I'd love to see is Sakura dispelling Tsukuyomi. Effortlessly. Anyway, enjoy!**

XX

"So tell me everything you saw," Tsunade ordered. Sakura fidgeted with her fingers nervously.

"Um…" she mumbled. "First it just looked like a normal wall with writing on it, so I read it. It was the Code of the Sage of the Six Paths." Sakura flipped open her commonplace book. "Hiroshi and Akihiro," she read. "If you are reading this, you are too late, for I am already dead."

"Hiroshi and Akihiro?" interrupted. "You don't mean Uchiha Hiroshi and Senju Akihiro, do you?"

"I…" Sakura stuttered. "I think so…"

"They founded their respective clans," Tsunade explained.

"I thought Madara founded the Uchiha clan," Sakura pointed out. Tsunade shook her head.

"Uchiha Madara was the one who coined the term 'Uchiha clan'," Tsunade corrected, "but the Uchiha clan, family, race, whatever you want to call it, was originally founded by Uchiha Hiroshi."

"What about Akihiro?" Sakura asked.

"Senju Akihiro founded the Senju clan like Hiroshi founded the Uchiha clan," Tsunade continued. "Now, even though they were both brothers, they absolutely hated each other from the bottoms of their hearts. Hiroshi believed that raw power would unify this world while Akihiro believed that peace and the Will of Fire would unify this world. Hiroshi always thought this was because Akihiro was younger and weaker than him." Tsunade smirked. "Believe it or not, Akihiro was an incredibly skilled medic… I know, it's funny that the first Senju was a medic. And Hiroshi was an incredible soldier and leader. Their father, the Sage of the Six Paths, sealed the original Bijuu, the Juubi, inside himself. Before he died, he split the Juubi's power into nine and sealed its power into a gigantic stone prison in the sky."

"What does this have to do with Hiroshi and Akihiro?" Sakura asked. Tsunade held her finger up.

"Patience!" she snapped. "I'm getting there! Also, the Sage of the Six Paths wrote all his observations and discoveries about the Juubi on a tablet. That Uchiha cavern hideout place you went to? That's the Naka Shrine, and the wall with the writing is the tablet the Sage of the Six Paths wrote on."

"But it didn't say anything about the Juubi at all!" Sakura protested. She looked back down at her commonplace book. "It just said, 'I am glad that you two have finally gotten past your differences, as that is the only way you can read this now.'" Tsunade remained silent. When Sakura paused, she motioned for her to continue. "Hiroshi, Akihiro, remember this: you two are incredibly strong alone, but if you combine forces you can obtain the power required to change this very earth. Only Senju and Uchiha together can bring about world peace."

"That's what the Sage of the Six Paths wanted all along," Tsunade finally said. "Peace. An end to war." Tsunade shut her eyes pensively. "In the end, he chose Akihiro as his successor because of his Will of Fire, even though he was younger and less powerful than Hiroshi. That's when things _really_ started going downhill. The Uchiha and Senju became enemies then."

"But there's more," Sakura continued. "The Sage of the Six Paths had a daughter too. Yuna." Tsunade's eyes widened.

"I've never heard of a daughter…" she said faintly. "Jiraiya… he just said that the Sage of the Six Paths only had two sons." Sakura shook her head.

"No, he had a daughter, and he wrote a message for her on the tablet too," Sakura denied. "'Yuna, I have entrusted the Rinnegan to you. Cherish it. Pass it down to your descendants, but do not just give it to those strong only in body; give it to those strong in mind as well. But pass it down only if Hiroshi and Akihiro do not reconcile.'"

"Akihiro always wanted to make up with Hiroshi, but Hiroshi was always too stubborn," Tsunade continued. "Hiroshi always thought that personal bonds inhibited his growth." Sakura's eyes narrowed in sadness.

"Like Naruto and Sasuke-kun…" she mumbled.

"As for Yuna… I don't really know. I never knew the Sage of the Six Paths even had a daughter. But if you look into your family tree, I'm sure you'll find _something_ related to Yuna. After all, that's how you got the Rinnegan, right? You're one of her descendants."

"But I don't even know who my real parents are." Tsunade smirked.

"I do," she said, almost mischievously. She opened one drawer and pulled out a photograph. "I got this from one of Jiraiya's old albums." She handed it to Sakura, who stared at it blankly. In the photograph were a man and a woman. The man had bright red hair that covered his eyes and the woman had deep blue hair with amber eyes. Sakura frowned. The woman in the picture looked rather familiar.

"Who are they?" she whispered.

"Nagato and his wife and partner Konan," Tsunade answered. "Akatsuki's leaders. Your parents."

* * *

Sasuke knew he was awake, but everything was still black. He tried to open his eyes, but it felt as if they had been sewn shut. He could hear footsteps too. He had no idea where he was. Where were Naruto and the Raikage? What happened to Nagato? Sasuke slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. "Yo, Uchiha, not so fast!" yelled a sickeningly familiar voice. Great. Of all places…

"Give the kid a break, Bee," a similar voice said. Oh god. Not both of them in the same _room_…

"Ne, Sasuke," Sasuke heard Naruto say. "You look kinda… spacey. Are you ok?" Sasuke tried to open his eyes, but failed again.

"Why don't you give me some time alone with him?" Sasuke heard Nagato ask. "I can honestly say I've never had a proper conversation with Itachi's brother before." So the jutsu worked. Sasuke sighed in relief. But why couldn't he see? "I'm so sorry, Sasuke."

"For what?" Sasuke asked almost immediately.

"You shouldn't have used that jutsu. You shouldn't have used it on _me_ of all people." Sasuke chose to remain silent. How did Nagato know about Izanagi? "I guess you could say… Konan kept Akatsuki's secrets. Whenever something they needed to confide in someone, they'd go straight to Konan. Your brother was no exception. He told her that there was one more jutsu the Mangekyou Sharingan was capable of, but its use would render the user blind in the eye that cast the jutsu."

"But I can't see _at all_," Sasuke emphasized.

"Then either you cast the jutsu wrong or you didn't have enough chakra to cast it one only one eye," Nagato said simply.

"Damn it," Sasuke muttered. He'd just about wasted away Itachi's eyes.

"Don't worry about it," Nagato said reassuringly. "Itachi mentioned that there was one Uchiha who still continued to fight, even though he was blind." Sasuke's mouth formed a hard line. "So… Naruto filled me in on your… history with him and my daughter." Sasuke stiffened, already knowing where this was going. "I understand your motives for leaving, but—"

"I shouldn't have left," Sasuke finished. "I know. I tell myself that every single day." Nagato sighed.

"Listen, Sasuke—" he started.

"Madara needs to be stopped at all costs," Sasuke said suddenly. His mouth formed a hard line. "Naruto said that you can revive people from the dead. Is it possible to temporarily bring back a dead person's soul?"

"I don't know," Nagato answered honestly. "I can try. Whose soul do you want me to summon?"

"Uchiha Izuna," Sasuke practically growled. "He was Madara's brother. He of all people should know Madara's weakness." Nagato smiled gently.

"All right then." The jutsu only took a few minutes. Sasuke could feel the wind rush in his ears and then he suddenly felt… warm. He opened his eyes slightly with surprisingly little effort. Standing in front of him was an older man who bore a striking resemblance to him.

"Are you an Uchiha?" the man asked, squinting his dark eyes. His eyes widened slowly. "Well don't you look a lot like me?"

"Are you Uchiha Izuna?" Sasuke asked sharply.

"Um… yes," the man answered, looking rather uncomfortable. "And you are?"

"Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke replied. "Your descendant." Izuna clapped his hands together.

"Oh this is just wonderful!" he said cheerfully. "I never once thought the Uchiha clan would prosper for so long!" Sasuke's eyes averted to the floor. Izuna did not fail to notice this. "What is the matter, Sasuke-san?"

"The Uchiha clan's gone," he said a little too bluntly. "There's just me left… and your brother." Now Izuna looked even more uncomfortable. "How come we both can see?"

"This is a genjutsu," Izuna explained. Sasuke made a seal with his hands, but Izuna waved his arms in front of him. "No, don't dispel it! As of now, this is the only way we can talk!"

"I need to defeat your brother Madara," Sasuke said adamantly. "Tell me how." Izuna put his palm to his forehead.

"Well…" he said. "Considering that you are the last Uchiha alive with the exception of my brother, I suppose I should tell you what I know. _Otouto_ will be so angry…"

"_Otouto_?" Sasuke repeated. "I thought Madara was older than you." Now Izuna looked slightly pained.

"Well that is where I should start then," he said firmly. "I am not Izuna. I am Madara."

XX

**Sakura relays her observations at the Naka Shrine to Tsunade, who finally tells her who her real parents are. Meanwhile, Sasuke, Naruto, Killer Bee, the Raikage, and Nagato recuperate from their battle. Because he didn't have enough chakra to perform Izanagi properly with one eye, Sasuke is now completely blind. He asks Nagato to summon Madara's brother Izuna's spirit temporarily so that he can ask him what Madara's weakness is. Izuna is all too willing to help and reveals that he is the original Madara.**

**Yay for cliffhangers! So if the **_**real**_** Madara is dead, then who's the person running around claiming to be Madara right now? Furthermore, what does the **_**real**_** Madara want to tell Sasuke so badly? Find out in… THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	8. The Truth about the Uchiha Clan

"What?" Sasuke yelled. "How? That's impossible! _You're_ Madara?" Izuna… er… _Madara_ looked rather guilty.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have told you…" he said morosely.

"No!" Sasuke yelled. He sighed and slapped his forehead with his hand. "Ok then, tell me this. If _you're_ Madara, then who's the guy running around claiming to be you?"

"That would most likely be my little brother Izuna," Madara explained. Sasuke sighed again. This was just so _insane_…

"How?" he asked, a little more quietly. Madara gave a sad, sentimental smile.

"I fell in love," he said softly. "Yuna… it's all because of her."

"Who's Yuna?" Sasuke asked automatically.

"Kuwada Yuna, my fiancé," Madara explained. "A respectable enough kunoichi. Kind. Gentle. One hell of a medic. She was also extremely adept at genjutsu."

"Get on with it," Sasuke snapped impatiently.

"Unfortunately," Madara said quietly, grimacing, "my relationship with Yuna did not settle well with the rest of my clan." He chuckled. "Izuna would constantly question my motives, ask if they would help the clan. Honestly… I didn't care about the clan then. However, something happened that changed all our lives. Yuna received a jutsu so rare, so powerful, that my family all of a sudden _wanted_ me to marry her as soon as possible."

"What was that?" Sasuke asked. Madara smirked.

"The Rinnegan. All of a sudden, _Otouto_ wanted me to marry her as soon as possible… No. He wanted Yuna for _himself_. So that _he_ could access the Rinnegan. But Yuna…" Madara chuckled softly. "She always hated the Rinnegan. She always said that it came to her by accident, that it was never meant for her. She wanted to get away from my family because she knew that they would do everything in their power to bind her to the Uchiha clan. She grew so sad, so depressed, that she actually considered taking her own life at several points. The last thing I wanted was for her to be unhappy. So we made plans to elope. _Otouto_ and I switched places. He became Uchiha Madara and I became Uchiha Izuna. No one but us and Yuna knew about the switch. _Otouto_ staged a breakup with Yuna and she and I escaped together. But before I did, I gave my eyes to _Otouto_ so that I could technically still keep an eye on the clan. However, there was one thing I should have done before I left. I should have told my closest friend of the switch. But no. I was too selfish. I wanted to leave and live my life with Yuna as quickly as possible." Madara sighed.

"Who was your friend?" Sasuke asked, trying to make his voice sound gentle.

"Senju Hashirama," Madara answered. Sasuke wondered why he wasn't surprised. "If I had just _told _him… maybe Izuna would never have been exiled from Konoha. Maybe Yuna and I would have been able to grow old together."

"What happened?" Sasuke whispered. Madara's eyes narrowed.

"Hashirama confronted Izuna the night we were supposed to elope."

"I thought it was the other way around. At least, that's what Ma—Izuna said." Madara waved his hand dismissively.

"Clearly if it's been this many years since that night, the story was bound to be changed."

"He told me he was the one who confronted him." Madara shook his head.

"That is false. Hashirama confronted Izuna. He didn't know of the switch, so it shocked him to find that who he thought was me could have changed so dramatically in the course of a couple weeks. They engaged in battle, and…" He trailed off and gestured towards his now translucent body. "I think you know the rest." Sasuke swallowed hard. "There were kunai and shuriken flying everywhere. The battle was affecting the whole area." Madara grimaced. "I used my body to shield Yuna from one stray attack. I told her to run, to continue to live her life, to be happy but… I was soon reunited with her… in death."

Sasuke didn't know what to say, so he settled for, "I'm so sorry, Madara." Madara smiled gently.

"Yuna told me something shortly before… you know… She said that the world can only be saved if the Uchiha and the Senju reconcile. At the time, I thought it was easy, since Hashirama was my closest friend, but Izuna has… complicated things somewhat." Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you know a Senju?" Sasuke's thoughts immediately flew to Naruto.

"Yes," Sasuke replied stiffly. "My… self-proclaimed best friend." Madara smiled.

"Good. Get closer to him. Become even greater friends with him. Also, do you know any Rinnegan users?"

"I know two," Sasuke replied. Madara gasped.

"Two? Which ones?"

"My… friend Sakura and her father Nagato." Madara rubbed his chin.

"Hmm…" he mused. "You should go with your friend. Most likely, her Rinnegan is more powerful since she awakened it after her father did." Sasuke nodded. "Now Sasuke, no matter what happens, do _not_ face Izuna on your own. You need your friends' help to truly defeat him." Madara stepped towards Sasuke and pressed two fingers against his forehead. "Now, a parting gift, for my time is almost up."

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, almost subconsciously.

"I am healing your vision," Madara explained. "I cannot restore your eyes to their original condition, but you will at least be able to see well enough. I suggest you get spectacles, however." A smirked tugged at the corner of Sasuke's mouth.

"Glasses, you mean?" he asked, a sarcastic hint to his voice. Madara's smile widened. He was looking more and more translucent by the minute.

"Whatever you children call it these days." He pulled away from Sasuke and stepped back. There was a white light so bright that Sasuke couldn't see. "Good luck… Uchiha Sasuke."

* * *

Karin strolled absentmindedly towards the gates of Konoha. She expected things to go back to normal after she, Suigetsu and Juugo were reunited, but what was really considered "normal" anymore? Sakura had recently awakened an insanely rare and powerful eye jutsu that she didn't even know she had, Sasuke, whom everyone previously believed to be insane with grief and bloodlust, was innocent and the entire shinobi world was at war. What was a simple kunoichi like Karin supposed to do? She had proven herself innocent, and it was only a matter of time before Suigetsu and Juugo's names were cleared too. She supposed she would leave the village once they were free to go, but now a part of her didn't want to leave. She had met so many wonderful people. Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi… they were all like one family and she so desperately wanted to be a part of it.

Karin spied Sakura sitting on the bench closest to the village gate, staring glumly at something in her hands. Karin sat down next to her. "Hey," she greeted. She peered down and noticed that whatever Sakura was looking at was a photograph. Tears sat at the edges of Sakura's eyes and her hands trembled slightly. "What's wrong?" Sakura looked up to acknowledge her for the first time.

"I just found out who my real parents are," she whispered. Her faced was scrunched up; it was obvious she was trying not to cry. She handed Karin the photograph without another word and stared at the ground. In the photograph were a man and a woman. The man had bright red hair, even brighter than Karin's, but his eyes were obstructed by his hair. Standing next to him was a woman with deep blue hair and a paper flower sitting in it.

"Who are these people?" Karin asked. Sakura opened her mouth to answer, but Karin cut her off. "I mean… I know they're your parents, but who _are_ they?"

"Nagato and Konan," Sakura answered sadly. "The leaders of Amegakure and… the leaders of Akatsuki." Karin's eyes widened in shock.

"No way…" she mumbled. "Seriously?" Sakura nodded, and the tears began to fall.

"I didn't know!" she cried. "I just… I thought…" Sakura clamped her mouth shut and shook her head. Not knowing what else to do, Karin wrapped her arms around her and hugged her.

"It's not your fault," Karin soothed, her voice surprisingly gentle. "Are they still alive?" Sakura rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I don't know… Tsunade-sama didn't say…"

"Sakura-chan! Karin-chan!" Karin snapped her head up, only to see Ino waving and heading towards them. Karin waved, but Sakura refused to acknowledge Ino's presence. Ino plopped down on the bench on the other side of Sakura.

"Ino, you and Sakura are sleeping over tonight," Karin announced. "Sakura, bring _all_ your pictures with Sasuke in them. We'll deface them." A small smile appeared on Sakura's face, and she shook her head. Sasuke-bashing with Karin was tempting, but tonight just wasn't the night.

"No…" she said. "Then I'll look back at them later and regret ever defacing them."

"But we're still on for tonight, right?" Karin insisted. Sakura nodded.

"Yeah… Of course…"

XX

**YAY FOR SASUKE BASHING! After all the crap Sasuke put her through, I can only imagine that Sakura would be absolutely FURIOUS with him. SO NOW SHE CAN MAKE SASUKE SUSHI BY CHOPPING HIM UP WITH HER AXE! I really wish Kishi would give her an axe or some other awesome power. Like AWESOME KICKASS GENJUTSU THAT TOTALLY PWNS ITACHI'S! Now THAT would be AMAZING. By the way, anyone up to date on the manga? BORING. It's all, "Sakura, go heal so-and-so while the MEN fight." Even at the Land of Iron, it was "Sakura, take the other female and heal her. The MEN are talking here." NOT COOL MAN! NARUTO FEMINISM FOR THE WIN!**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I LIVE OFF YOUR REVIEWS PEOPLE! …at least this fanfic lives off your reviews… PLEASE REVIEW!**


	9. A Time to Relax and a Time to Rush

"So let me get this straight," Ino said, looking up at Sakura from the floor of Karin's room. "You were adopted." She jabbed her finger in Sakura's direction, "and you just found out that your real parents are Akatsuki's leaders." Sakura nodded. Ino's mouth formed a hard line. "That's just messed up." Sakura hugged her knees.

"Tell me about it," she mumbled. Ino put her hands on her hips and glared at Sakura.

"How come you never told me about it?" she yelled. "Does _anyone_ know?"

"Kakashi-sensei knows," Sakura simply replied, "but Sasuke-kun and Naruto don't."

"I know," Karin volunteered, raising her hand.

"I can't believe you told _Karin_ and not _me_!" Ino screeched.

"I didn't!" Sakura insisted. "Speaking of which, how _do_ you know, Karin?" Karin just smirked.

"I have my ways," she replied cockily. "I don't want you going on another Sasuke tirade." Sakura's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What does Sasuke-kun have to do with this?" Karin stared at her blankly. "Karin… did he tell you anything? I mean… I… _I_ didn't tell him anything… How did he find out?"

"He said Madara told him," Karin replied. "He came here while you were out fighting. He wanted to check if you were ok and he said he wanted to warn you to stay away from Akatsuki."

"What the hell?" Sakura wondered out loud. "Since _when_ does Sasuke want to know if I'm _ok_?"

"Well there _was_ that one time during Chuunin Exams…" Ino drawled out. Sakura glared at her.

"Shut up, Ino-pig," Sakura snapped.

"_Make_ me, Billboard Brow!" Ino shot back.

"Guys!" Karin yelled. "What happened during Chuunin Exams?" Ino gave a dreamy sigh.

"Oh it was _so_ romantic!" she gushed. "Of course I completely _hated_ Sakura at the time for it, but that's another story."

"What happened?" Karin asked again.

"Orochimaru gave Sasuke this curse hickey and Sakura helped him cope with it," Ino explained. "They held hands and _everything_!"

"We did _not_ hold hands," Sakura clarified.

"Oh yes you did!" Ino yelled. "Your fingers were freaking _entwined_ Sakura!"

"He was in a lot of pain!" Sakura countered.

"And you guys were arguing like an old married couple while that Gekkou Hayate guy was explaining the prelims," Ino continued. "Oh yeah, and let's not forget the _epic hug_!"

"Ino, _shut up_!" Sakura yelled, covering her ears.

"Relax Sakura!" Karin yelled. "He's ok now! He's not insane!"

"Huh?" Sakura said.

"Apparently he staged that whole insanity thing at the Land of Iron," Karin explained. "He wanted to tear Akatsuki down from the inside, so he convinced Madara to trust him by going to the Land of Iron and picking a fight with all the Kages. And _then_ when you, Naruto and Kakashi confronted him, he _pretended_ that he went insane and that he was going to kill everyone in Konoha." Sakura rubbed her chin.

"I always did find it slightly odd that he burst into maniacal laughter," Sakura mused. "I mean, I've never heard him laugh once."

"I don't think I've ever seen him smile," Ino lamented.

"I saw him do that," Sakura interjected.

"Lucky you," Ino said dryly. Sakura stared at the floor.

"Wow… he's innocent…" she whispered. "He's ok…" She squealed. "HE CAME HOME TO KONOHA!"

"And then he got kicked out after having some guy named Inoichi literally read his brain," Karin added.

"That's my dad!" Ino gasped. "Why didn't he say anything?" Karin shrugged.

"Who knows?" she retorted. "But come on. It's not like he tells you anything and everything." Ino's mouth formed a hard line.

"Point," she conceded.

"Wait, so Sasuke-kun can't come back?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know," Karin answered honestly. Sakura gave a heavy sigh.

"I remember…" she mused, a small smile spreading across her face. "One thing no one ever knew about him was that he was an amazing cook."

"Really?" Ino asked. "How do you know about it then?"

"I went to his apartment because I wanted to give back the clothes he lent me after mine got soaked that one time during training," Sakura replied. "He was cooking then and he made me try whatever it was he was cooking." Sakura gave a dreamy sigh. "That was the best tomato sauce _ever_."

"What the hell?" Karin yelled. "Why couldn't he cook for us, huh? Why did _I_ have to do all the cooking?" Sakura giggled.

"He also cooked a _lot_ whenever he got nervous or upset," Sakura continued. "I remember this one time before we had to go on a really dangerous A-rank mission, he spent the entire day just _cooking_, and then he packed all the food into little bentos and actually _brought_ them for the mission. And then even _after_ that, he still had tons of food left over."

"So how amazing _is_ his cooking?" Ino asked, raising her eyebrows.

"So amazing that he should quit being a shinobi and open up a restaurant," Sakura replied, giggling a little. Ino sighed dreamily.

"Just one more reason I should date him," she sighed.

"If you can get him to stay in the same room with you for more than thirty seconds at a time," Sakura added. Ino just glared at her.

* * *

Sasuke was running around, freaking out… Well he was _really_ just getting the Raikage, Killer Bee and Nagato to _hurry the hell up_, but… Needless to say, Naruto had never seen this side of him before. "_Why_ are you just standing there?" he yelled at Naruto. "Move! Get ready! We have to leave!" When Naruto didn't move, Sasuke threw a punch at him, which Naruto dodged effortlessly.

"What the hell was that for?" Naruto yelled.

"Move!" Sasuke yelled again. Nagato, who was tearing down camp, walked up to them cautiously.

"Mind if I ask _why_ we have to leave so suddenly?" he asked.

"We need to get back to Konoha," Sasuke replied hurriedly.

"But why?" Naruto asked. "I mean, I'm all for going back to Konoha, but why do we have to go _right now_? Can't you at least cook breakfast for us first?"

"No!" Sasuke yelled back. "Eat a freaking food pill or something!" Naruto pouted. The Raikage and Killer Bee walked up to Naruto.

"Hey Naruto," the Raikage said. "Bee and I are going to take off."

"Where?" Naruto asked, pouting.

"Back to Kumogakure," Bee replied. "We got to go."

"Besides, we have no place in Konoha," the Raikage added.

"But we're all allies now!" Naruto yelled.

"Still," the Raikage drawled out slowly. "I'm sure we'll see each other again." He whipped his head to Sasuke's direction. "Oy, Uchiha! You put another toe out of line and you're _dead_, you hear?" Sasuke didn't say anything.

"I know the Uchiha brat's scared shitless of my brother," Killer Bee whispered to Naruto. Naruto sniggered evilly. "So we'll finish training later."

"Yes!" Naruto affirmed. And with that, the brothers waved and left. Naruto smiled and waved back.

"Naruto!" Sasuke barked. "Don't just stand there with your mouth hanging open like an idiot. _Move_!" Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke and packed his stuff.

"Teme!" Naruto shouted. "What happened? Why are you acting all crazy?"

"He got some unsettling news from Madara's brother Izuna," Nagato explained.

"No," Sasuke denied through gritted teeth. "I got some unsettling news from _Madara_ about his brother _Izuna_."

"You're not making any sense," Naruto said dumbly. Sasuke finally stopped dead in his tracks in front of Naruto.

"The real Madara is dead," he explained. "The person claiming to be Madara is really Madara's brother Izuna."

"That's messed up," Naruto mumbled. "More messed up than Sakura-chan being Nagato's daughter. What does he want? Other than use the moon to take over the world, I mean."

"I don't know!" Sasuke yelled exasperatedly as he continued to pack up. "But we can only defeat him if you, me and Sakura join forces."

"What about me?" Nagato asked.

"You can help us," Sasuke replied sharply.

"Fine by me," Nagato said. He suddenly stopped in his tracks as his expression turned blank. "What am I going to say to Sakura?"

"Maybe she already knows," Naruto suggested helpfully. Nagato shook his head.

"No, I specifically told Haruno-san not to tell her anything until _after_ both Konan and I were dead. As for the Rinnegan—"

"She wasn't supposed to get that, right?" Naruto cut him off. "But she _did_ so maybe Tsunade _baa-chan_ told her!"

"Tsunade?" Nagato repeated faintly.

"Ero-sennin's teammate," Naruto explained.

"Ero-sennin?" Nagato repeated again.

"Jiraiya," Sasuke filled in. He opened his mouth as if to snap at him, but he shut it almost immediately. By now, he was done packing. "Let's go," he said. And with that, he started flying towards Konoha, Naruto and Nagato not too far behind.

XX

**I really hate this chapter. NOTHING HAPPENED. But, then again, so much has been happening in all the other chapters, so I guess it's time things cooled down for a chapter. I hate how Kishi's pulling so many random characters out of his ass and making them INSANELY STRONG. And WHAT the hell happened to characters like Temari and Tenten? But I like Samui and Atsui in the latest manga chapter. And Kinkaku and Ginkau are badass. Sooo some things I wish to see in the next several chapters:**

**1. RETURN OF SASUKE. Seriously, I KNOW we said that Kishi was paying WAY too much attention to him, but WHERE THE HECK DID HE GO?**

**2. RETURN OF BADASS SAKURA. New, or should I say OLD Sakura is sooooo ANNOYING! I WANT BADASS SAKURA BACK! **

**3. A confrontation between Sakura and Sasuke of epic proportions. Preferably with a fight. Preferably where Sakura beats Sasuke into a bloody pulp because he deserves it. One where Sasuke doesn't pull another random jutsu out of his ass. Preferably a confrontation that ends in their lips locked, but that's a little farfetched.**

**4. Sakura finding out that Itachi is an Edo summon and flying off the handle by trying to kill him. Because there's no evidence in the manga that she knows what really happened to the Uchiha clan, so why SHOULDN'T she hate Itachi? Preferably where she effortlessly dispels Tsukuyomi. Preferably where she wins, even if it's just by a little bit.**

**5. Sasuke finding out that Itachi is alive and that Kabuto is in cahoots with Madara. We know this won't end well. As soon as Sasuke finds out that Kabuto is working with Madara, he'll be gone.**

**6. MORE KINKAKU AND GINKAKU, MY TWO NEW FAVORITE CHARACTERS!**

**7. More Suigetsu and Karin. I know we just saw Suigetsu a couple chapters ago, but is more of him really too much to ask for? Also, what happened to Karin? I WANT TO KNOW.**

**8. Hinata taking initiative and kissing Naruto full on the mouth. Because you know you REALLY want to see that.**

**9. More adorable NejiTen fluff.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	10. Reunion

**Yay, I'm updating early! I NEED MORE REVIEWS PEOPLE! And enjoy :)**

XX

By the time Naruto, Sasuke and Nagato reached Konoha, it was nightfall. Naruto let them into his apartment. "Excuse the mess," he said embarrassedly. "Just make yourselves comfortable. Teme, feel free to cook to your heart's content. Just be sure to save some for me." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"What is it about Sasuke's cooking?" Nagato asked curiously.

"It's _amazing_," Naruto gushed. "Sasuke-teme should just quit being a shinobi altogether and open up a restaurant. He's _that_ good. I mean, he makes even _mission food_ taste good!" Sasuke just crossed his arms.

"I'm not _that_ good," he denied.

"So I'm going to tell Sakura-chan to meet us tomorrow!" Naruto announced as he left the apartment. Naruto sprinted to Sakura's house. He remembered how she was so happy that she rebuilt it just before he left. "Sakura-chan!" he yelled as he banged his fist against the door. "Sakura-chan, open up!" After a few minutes of banging against the door, Sakura finally opened the door, dressed in a pale green robe, rubbing her eyes.

"What?" she asked irritably.

"Do you want to train with me tomorrow?" Naruto asked.

"Don't you have to go back to that Killer Bee guy?" she asked sleepily.

"Nope!" Naruto yelled. "So just meet me at the usual spot at ten tomorrow morning, ok?"

"Fine, fine," Sakura grumbled. "You woke me up just to tell me _that_?" Naruto scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan…" he apologized. "This couldn't wait. Anyway, see you tomorrow!" Naruto ran off, and Sakura slammed the door shut before migrating to the couch and falling asleep.

* * *

The next morning, there was a knock at the door as Sakura was sharpening her axe with a smooth, round stone. She opened the door, and Naruto stood there. "Good morning, Sakura-chan!" he yelled. Sakura smiled at him.

"Good morning!" she greeted. "I thought I was going to meet you at the usual spot."

"I changed my mind," Naruto said, shrugging. "We'll just go together." Sakura shrugged.

"Fine by me." She sheathed her axe and slung it over her shoulder.

"Wait, Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "Why don't I carry that for you? It looks really heavy." Sakura unsheathed it and laid it down on the table. She pressed two fingers onto the red swirling pattern on the blade. The whole axe glowed pale blue.

"Send a steady stream of chakra into the blade," she instructed Naruto. "That way, you can carry it. If you send too little, it won't work, but if you send too much, it'll reject you." Naruto pressed two fingers onto the blade and focused his chakra so that it entered the blade in a steady stream. "Wow… When did you get so good at controlling your chakra?"

"When I was training with Bee," Naruto replied cheerfully. He slung the axe over his shoulder as he and Sakura left the house. They made their way over to the training ground where they first took the bell test. Sakura stopped dead in her tracks as she saw someone leaning lazily against a tree with his arms crossed.

It was Sasuke.

"Yo," Sasuke greeted, smirking and giving a wave.

"Surprise!" Naruto yelled to Sakura. He glanced nervously from Sasuke, who simply stood there smirking, to Sakura, who was clenching and unclenching her fists. He wasn't sure how this was going to end. As Sakura clenched her fists one last time and kept the clenched, Naruto did a mental countdown as he waited for Mount Sakura to erupt.

"THREE YEARS!" she screeched as she throttled Sasuke. "YOU WERE GONE _THREE YEARS_, AND YOU COME BACK AND THE ONLY THING YOU CAN SAY IS 'YO'?"

"Aa," Sasuke said. Naruto facepalmed.

"Sasuke, you idiot," he groaned. He was _so_ dead.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?" Sakura yelled. "I…" She whipped around and began stepping towards Naruto in a menacing way. "Naruto, where's my axe?" Naruto quickly tried to hide Sakura's axe behind him.

"Um…" he mumbled.

"Naruto, _where_ is my _axe_?" Sakura repeated, looking more and more scary by the minute.

"Um…" Naruto said again. "I think you left it at home…"

"You _give_ me my axe, Uzumaki Naruto," Sakura growled, jabbing her finger onto his chest. There was a poof, and Kakashi appeared next to them.

"Yo!" he greeted. Sakura checked your watch. Then…

"YOU'RE SIX MINUTES AND THIRTY-EIGHT SECONDS LATE!" she accused. Kakashi sighed.

"What, you're keeping track now?" he groaned.

"Six minutes and thirty-eight seconds?" Sasuke repeated. "Isn't that really early for Kakashi standards?"

"SHUT UP!" Sakura screeched as she punched Sasuke square in the jaw, sending him flying several feet ahead. As he lay submerged in a pile of dirt, Sakura lifted him up by the foot and let him fall onto the ground. Then she grabbed him by the shirt and shook him back and forth repeatedly.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?" she yelled. "YOU SHOW YOUR FACE HERE AFTER THREE YEARS! YOU'RE LUCKY WE'RE EVEN _LETTING_ YOU BACK HERE AFTER WHAT _YOU_ DID AT THE LAND OF IRON!"

"I never thought I'd see the day…" Kakashi mumbled, not quite sure what to make of the situation.

"I don't know…" Naruto agreed. Seeing Sakura unleash her wrath and fury on Sasuke was refreshing, yet sad at the same time.

_Was Sakura always like this?_ Sasuke thought miserably as Sakura continued to shake him back and forth.

* * *

Sasuke sat on one side of Naruto at Ichiraku's. Needless to say, the training session didn't go very well, as it consisted mostly of Naruto and Kakashi trying to pry Sakura off of Sasuke. "Naruto," Sasuke said in a low voice. Sakura had left momentarily to talk to Ino, and Sasuke wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. "Was Sakura always this… violent?"

"Sasuke-teme," Naruto said in a louder voice. "Hell hath no fury like Sakura-chan." Sasuke groaned.

"You've got to be kidding me," he mumbled. "She thinks I tried to kill her. I never meant to."

"Don't worry, Sasuke," Kakashi assured him. "She hasn't heard your side of the story yet."

"Or maybe Karin or someone told her and she's just pissed off at you," Naruto added. Sasuke sighed as Sakura stepped back into the stand.

"Sorry everyone," she apologized. "I have to go. I promised I'd take a shift at the hospital and—"

"No," Sasuke said suddenly, surprising everyone. "Stay. You can always take another shift later." Naruto and Kakashi shifted into defensive positions, hoping Sakura wouldn't punch Sasuke again. "Besides… your father's here." Sakura gasped.

"Sasuke, you idiot!" Naruto yelled. "You don't just drop a bombshell like that!"

"He…" Sakura mumbled. "He's _here_?" Her eyes were wide, and her body seemed to be shaking.

"_Hai_," Naruto affirmed. "He came here with us after—"

"But isn't he an Edo summon?" Sakura interrupted him. "Tsunade-sama told me he was an Edo summon."

"Not anymore," Sasuke said.

"W-We can introduce you to him after lunch, Sakura-chan," Naruto offered. Sakura nodded as she sat down next to Sasuke.

"Sure… That's fine…" Sakura picked at her food, stirring her chopsticks aimlessly in the rapidly cooling bowl of ramen. In the end, Sakura pushed Naruto her bowl. "Do you want it?" she asked him. "I'm not that hungry." After that, Sakura just rested her chin in the palms of her hands and sighed.

"Nervous?" Sasuke asked, smirking a little. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him but didn't say anything, slowly counting to ten in her head.

"Oy, teme…" Naruto said, tapping Sasuke on the shoulder. "She's going to hit you again if you don't shut up." Sasuke looked to Kakashi, who merely nodded gravely. He then inched away from Sakura slowly. An awkward silence fell among them, only to be interrupted by Nagato.

"Naruto," he greeted. "Sasuke. The Hokage told me I'd find you two here." Both boys cast nervous glances to Sakura and gasped. A log sat in her place.

* * *

Sakura sprinted down the street, panting slightly. She felt bad for ditching Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi at Ichiraku's but all the talk about her real parents was making her nervous. _Too_ nervous. Slowing to a steady stroll, she wondered how long it would take before someone realized that she was gone. She didn't really know. She soon found herself sitting on top of Tsunade's head on the Hokage monument. She sighed and hugged her knees. So her father was here in Konoha. What was she supposed to do about it? "Thanks for ditching us back there." Sakura practically jumped when she saw Sasuke sitting next to her.

"Wh-What are you doing here?" she stuttered.

"Really, Sakura-chan, that wasn't very nice," Naruto piped up from her other side. "You left right when your dad showed up, right?"

"Substitution jutsu," Sasuke said flatly. "Clever, but still so annoying." Sakura paled visibly.

"You mean he _came_ there?" she squeaked. Sasuke frowned at her.

"Wait, you're not saying that you left _before_ he even showed up, are you?" he asked her incredulously.

"Well what do you expect me to do about it?" she yelled at him. "I just found out that he was my father _last week_, Sasuke-kun! And _now_ you expect me to carry on as if I've known him my entire life? I can't do that!"

"No one expects you to do that, Sakura," a new voice said. Nagato now stood in front of them, his eyes bright green like Sakura's as opposed to the swirl of the Rinnegan. "Naruto, Sasuke, if you don't mind, I would like to have a talk with my daughter alone." Naruto and Sasuke just shrugged as the stood up and jumped off of Tsunade's head. Nagato sat down next to Sakura, who hugged her knees tightly to her chest. When Sakura didn't say anything, Nagato started. "I can only assume that you would be angry with me." Sakura shook her head.

"I'm not mad," she whispered. "Really… thanks… for getting me away from Madara." Nagato chuckled.

"Well, Izuna now," he corrected. Sakura frowned in confusion.

"What?" she asked. Nagato just shook his head.

"You'll be better off hearing that one from Sasuke," he said softly. Nagato scrutinized Sakura closely, and she refused to make eye contact with him. "You look like Konan." Sakura looked up and met his eyes for the first time.

"My mom?" she asked. Nagato nodded.

"You have my eyes, but your face is shaped like hers." He ran his finger against her nose lightly. "You have her nose." A small smile spread across Sakura's face. "I can understand if you hate me—"

"But I _don't_ hate you," Sakura clarified.

"At least, let me explain. When… When we realized Konan was pregnant, we panicked. We hoped you wouldn't get the Rinnegan like me. If you did, then we knew Izuna would try to claim you for himself." Sakura shuddered. "So we brought you here. No offense… Konan and I hate Konoha from the bottoms of our hearts."

"I know," Sakura told him. "Naruto told me."

"But we brought you here because we knew this was the last place anyone would expect us to take you. We knocked on every door until we came upon one man… Haruno-san."

"_Otou-san_…" Sakura whispered to herself.

"We told him that we had people after us, really cruel, evil shinobi who wanted us dead, and we feared for your life. Every single word we told him was the truth. He and his wife took you in without question. It wasn't uncommon then for civilians to adopt children of shinobi… war orphans… Tell me… did you ever tell anyone that you were adopted?"

"_Okaa-san_ and _Otou-san_ told me when I was five, just before I started attending the Academy," Sakura told him. "They said I was old enough to know, and they said I could tell anyone if I wanted. But I didn't." She let out a long sigh. "Maybe it would have just been easier to tell everyone that I was a war orphan."

"But we were still alive then," Nagato pointed out.

"Shinobi children entrusted to civilian parents are always war orphans, regardless of whether their real parents are alive or not."

"I'm sorry," Nagato apologized almost immediately. Sakura shook her head.

"Stop blaming yourself," she said. "If you hadn't brought me here, I'd probably be dead right now, or worse. Besides… just because I've only known about you being my father for about a week now… doesn't mean we can't start fresh." Nagato smiled gently.

"Of course," he said. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around Sakura and hugged her tightly.

* * *

The old man read the mission report again. It was issued eight years ago, but he couldn't stop himself from reading it and rereading it over and over again. He finally reached the bottom where Uchiha Itachi had meticulously signed his name. He placed the mission report back into the file, placed the file back in the drawer, and locked the drawer shut. Koharu and Homura wouldn't be able to access the file. _He_, after all, had the key. And there was no possible way for them to pick the lock. He stood up shakily and, cursing his old age, stumbled over to his desk. No one dared approach it, even after his supposed death. So he knew it had been untouched during his absence. He knew no one had seen the pictures in the right drawer, not even his most trusted subordinates. He opened the drawer slowly and pulled out five pictures. They were all of Uchiha Sasuke: one of him as a baby, one as a small child, one as an academy student, one as a genin, and a more recent one of him donned in his Akatsuki cloak, Mangekyou Sharingans spinning in his eyes as he glared ahead with a murderous gaze.

Shimura Danzou sighed heavily. He had done just as Itachi had asked. Watch Sasuke from the shadows. Take care of him without letting him know of his presence. And, if absolutely necessary, let him defeat him, but take care not to die in the process. There was a knock at the door, and Koharu entered. "Forget it, Koharu," he snapped almost immediately. "I know what you and Homura are up to."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Koharu said simply as she left the room. Danzou's hands balled into fists.

_Damn it_, he thought. _Where's Hiruzen when you need him?_

XX

**I'm sure you've noticed by now, but basically, this entire story is pretty much a collection of manga predictions, what I hope to see in the manga, and Sakura badassery. Now, RECAP:**

**Sasuke, Naruto, and Nagato finally arrive in Konoha. Naruto invites Sakura to train with him the next day and surprises her with Sasuke's return. To everyone's surprise, she beats Sasuke into a bloody pulp. While eating lunch at Ichiraku's, Sasuke drops a bombshell on Sakura that her father is in Konoha and, unable to deal with it, she escapes via the substitution jutsu. Shortly afterward, Sasuke and Naruto find her atop the Hokage monument, only to be found by Nagato. Nagato then asks Naruto and Sasuke to leave as he talks to Sakura.**

**I find Sakura beating Sasuke into a bloody pulp endearing. How about you? Yes, I know the whole Sakura-Nagato conversation is very awkward. Considering that the last time either of them saw each other was when Sakura was barely a year old, of COURSE their reunion would be awkward.**

**I would REALLY appreciate it if all readers actually REVIEWED, as opposed to the three or four that review every chapter. THIS STORY THRIVES ON REVIEWS, PEOPLE! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! **


	11. The Bell Test

"Yo," Kakashi greeted as he poofed into the usual training spot near the memorial, only to find Sasuke fast asleep, leaning against one of the three stumps. Kakashi gently shook him awake, to which, Sasuke responded by grabbing his wrist with one hand, pulling out his sword with another hand and powering up the sword with Chidori. "Are you always this paranoid, Sasuke?" Kakashi couldn't help but ask. Sasuke depowered the Chidori, sheathed his sword and released Kakashi's wrist.

"Hn," he said as he sat up with his back against the stump.

"Where are Naruto and Sakura?" Kakashi asked. Right on cue, Kakashi was knocked to the ground by both Naruto and Sakura, running at full speed to reach the training spot.

"We're sorry we're late!" they yelled simultaneously.

"You're _six hours late_," Sasuke grumbled. "Naruto, I can understand, but _you_ Sakura?" Sakura just shrugged.

"If you hadn't left to go join that snake pedophile, you would know by now that it's easier to just show up late than wait here for Kakashi-sensei for six hours," she said. Sasuke just glared at her. Kakashi cleared his throat.

"So I called you three here for a reason," he said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out two bells and chimed them. "I think you know what to do." Naruto took a fighting stance, but Kakashi held his hand up. "But first, there are a few rules." He removed his mask partially so that his Sharingan eye was visible. "Sasuke, you can't use your Mangekyou Sharingan. You could kill someone." Sasuke just shrugged. "Sakura, no using your axe. Your Rinnegan should be enough."

"You've got to be kidding me," she grumbled. "Can't I just use the axe and not the Rinnegan?" Kakashi shook his head.

"You're going to have to use the Rinnegan eventually anyway," he said, "so you might as well get used to using it now." Sakura sighed and tossed her axe at a nearby tree. If it wasn't sheathed, it would have completely chopped the tree down. "So you three know the drill. The one who doesn't get the bells gets tied to a stump while the other two eat lunch." Sasuke's stomach grumbled, and Naruto sniggered. "Ready… set…" Naruto charged at Kakashi immediately, tackling him with several Kage Bunshins. "Naruto!" Kakashi yelled as he struggled to dodge the onslaught of Kage Bunshins. "What did I say about starting before I say 'start'?" The clones disappeared with a poof.

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto apologized, scratching the back of his head and laughing nervously.

"Now," Kakashi said. "One… two… three… START!" And with that, he disappeared with a poof. Sakura seized this opportunity to grab both Naruto and Sasuke by the wrists and drag them into some bushes.

"I have a strategy," Sakura said. She picked up a stick from the ground and drew a circle. "Naruto, this is you," she said, pointing to the circle. "Sasuke-kun, this is you." She drew a triangle and pointed to it. "This is me." She drew a square and pointed to it.

"Why are we shapes?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the side.

"And _this_ is Kakashi-sensei." Sakura drew a circle with a line running through it. "So here's what we do. Naruto, you charge at Kakashi-sensei with the Rasengan from here." She drew an arrow from the clear circle to the circle with the line running through it. "Sasuke-kun, charge at Kakashi-sensei with the Chidori from here." She drew another arrow from the triangle to the circle with the line running through it. "I will come in from _here_," she drew an arrow from the square to the circle with the line running through it, "and snatch the bells. Then you guys need to pull back and get behind me. I'll toss the bells to you, and you _better_ catch them."

"What happens if we don't?" Sasuke asked. Sakura's eyes narrowed into slits at him, and Sasuke gulped nervously.

"Now go," Sakura instructed, pointing towards Kakashi. Sure enough, Kakashi stood there, reading his book. "He isn't taking us seriously, is he?"

"Why would he?" Naruto asked. "Last time we had to trick him to get the bells."

"At least we got the bells," Sakura mumbled, more to herself than to Naruto. Sasuke raised his eyebrows, but didn't bother asking. "Go!" Naruto stood several feet away from Kakashi, staring at him and Sasuke stood even farther.

"Chidori!" Sasuke yelled as he powered up the Chidori and began charging at Kakashi.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled as one of his Kage Bunshins powered up the Rasengan. Kakashi's eyes widened as he saw both Naruto and Sasuke charging at him from two different directions. He leaped into the air, only to find Sakura behind him, the Rinnegan swirling in her eyes. Just as Naruto and Sasuke pulled back, Sakura snatched both bells. She tossed them behind her, and Naruto and Sasuke ran backwards. Naruto caught one of the bells swiftly, but the other bell bounced off of Sasuke's outstretched hand.

"No!" Sakura yelled, but it was too late. Kakashi had appeared behind Sasuke and was holding out the bell for him to see.

"Hmm…" he mumbled. "So Naruto and Sasuke were just distractions while Sakura got the bells." He looked down at Sasuke. "And she tossed the bells to you two, letting herself be tied to the stump." He smiled. "But, obviously, the plan failed because Sasuke failed to catch the bell." Sasuke glared at him, and Kakashi threw the bell to Sakura, who caught it. "Here you go Sakura."

"Wait, why do I get the bell?" Sakura asked.

"It was your plan, right?" Kakashi asked. Sakura didn't say anything. "Now let's go, Sasuke." Kakashi began dragging Sasuke to the stumps by his ear. Naruto burst out laughing and even Sakura giggled a little. And with that, Kakashi tied Sasuke to the stump and handed Naruto and Sakura the bentos. "Don't feed Sasuke," he warned them, "but I doubt you would listen to me anyway." He disappeared in a poof as Sakura opened her bento.

"All right, Naruto, you know the drill," she said. "Open up, Sasuke-kun." Sakura stuffed two chopsticks worth of rice into his mouth. He grimaced and swallowed hard. Naruto stared pointedly at him.

"Sakura, did you make this?" Sasuke asked, clearing his throat. Naruto sighed in relief. Sakura smiled sweetly up at Sasuke.

"Why yes I did," she replied. "Why do you ask?" Sasuke glanced over at Naruto.

"Because…" he started. "I was wondering if you wanted to start those… cooking lessons… again." Naruto jerked his head upwards.

"What cooking lessons?" he asked. Sakura cleared her throat and stared at the bento in her lap.

"Back when we were genin…" Sakura started. "Sasuke-kun gave me…" her gaze flickered to Sasuke, "cooking lessons… almost every night at his apartment." Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly.

"When did these lessons start?" he asked.

"After Chuunin exams," Sasuke answered for Sakura. Sakura sighed, and Naruto slammed his bento down on the grass.

"I'm out of here," he said. "I hope you two are happy together." And with that, he stood up and walked away. Sakura sighed and placed her head in her hands.

"Great," she mumbled.

"You didn't tell him about the cooking lessons," Sasuke pointed out.

"No shit," Sakura replied sarcastically. "And it's not like they were cooking lessons."

"Well we _did_ cook for most of the time," Sasuke said. Sakura held her finger in the air.

"Correction," she said. "_I_ cooked most of the time while _you_ gave me instructions from the couch after I sealed your curse seal." She crossed her arms. "This is entirely your fault." Sasuke glared at her.

"How so?" he asked.

"You told me not to tell Naruto about the curse seal!"

"Well he knows now, doesn't he? And it's not like I have it anymore." Sakura took a moment to stare at his face before sighing and shaking her head. "And he's _Naruto_. He doesn't hold grudges."

"But now he thinks there was something going on between us back then," Sakura said. "And that we were trying to keep it a secret." Sasuke scoffed.

"That's ridiculous," he refuted. "If there _was_ something going on between us, and there _wasn't_, why would we want to keep it a secret?"

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. "You had — _h_ave — an enormous pole up your ass. Even if there _was_ something going on between us, it's not like you to admit it openly."

"I would have admitted it to get the fangirls off my back," Sasuke practically growled. "And what about you? Wouldn't you have gloated to all your Academy fangirl friends that you finally ensnared Uchiha Sasuke?"

"That has _nothing_ to do with it," Sakura hissed, jabbing a finger into his chest. "And there _wasn't_ anything going on between us, regardless of what Naruto thinks." Sasuke smirked.

"Really now, Sakura?" he asked lightly. Sakura's eyes narrowed into slits.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"Exactly that." Sakura stood up.

"You're hopeless," was all she said as she began to walk away. "Have fun waiting for Kakashi-sensei to untie you."

Sakura knocked on Naruto's door. "Naruto?" she called. "It's me. Open up." No response. The apartment was completely silent. Sakura sighed and sat down next to the door with her back against the wall.

"Trouble in paradise?" Sakura looked up, only to see Karin standing in front of her. Karin sat down next to Sakura. "Let me guess. You got into an awkward situation with Sasuke, Naruto saw said awkward situation, and now Naruto's mad at you and you're mad at Sasuke." Sakura just stared wide-eyed at her. "I'm right, aren't I?" Sakura sighed.

"There was _nothing_ going on between me and Sasuke-kun when we were genin," Sakura said flatly. "I liked him, but the cooking lessons had nothing to do with that."

"Whoa!" Karin yelled. "Cooking lessons?"

"Yeah," Sakura mumbled.

"Really?"Karin asked, smirking and trying to suppress laughter. "Must have been some hot classes."

"Oh shut up," Sakura snapped. "Those… cooking lessons… were just times I would seal up Sasuke-kun's curse seal. And we really did cook… or at least… _I_ did… He gave me instructions while he was recuperating on his couch."

"Why didn't you just tell Naruto that?" Karin asked.

"He left before I could," Sakura explained. She sighed. "You know what?" she asked. "Just forget I said anything." Karin shrugged.

"Whatever you say, Sakura," she said absentmindedly before walking away. Sakura sighed again as she hugged her knees.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto walked over to her. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Sakura replied. "Look, I know you're mad at me, but at least let me explain—"

"I'm not mad," Naruto said.

"Really?" Sakura asked.

"But… can you tell me what you did in those cooking lessons anyway?" Naruto asked. Sakura shrugged.

"I just sealed up his curse seal and cooked while he gave me instructions," Sakura explained. "That's it." Naruto smiled.

"Ok," he said. "Good." Sakura sighed in relief.

"Great," she said. She stood up. "Hey, Naruto, can you and Sasuke-kun meet me later at my apartment? I need to show you something." Naruto grinned broadly.

"Yeah, sure!" he agreed. Sakura smiled.

"Great…"

Danzo stared out the window in his office at the Hokage monument. He stared at the bare rock next to the carving of Tsunade's head. _I could have been there…_ he thought. There was a knock at the door, and Danzo turned around. The door creaked open, and Koharu stood in the doorway. "Uchiha Sasuke won't be left in the dark for long, Danzo." Danzo's eyes narrowed into slits, but he didn't look at Koharu. Koharu walked up to him and stared out the window with him, standing by his side. "You know what they say, Danzo," she continued. She leaned in and whispered, "The noblest ones are the easiest to manipulate, especially if you convinced them that the ends justify the means." And with that, she walked away. "I believe we have three new Sennin now, all in Konoha. They would all be beneficial to our cause."

"Don't you _dare_," Danzo hissed. "You will _not_ manipulate them into serving Akatsuki. Even if you try, they'll never—"

"Uzumaki Naruto is an idealist," Koharu continued. "But he is incredibly naïve, thinking he can end all fighting and war himself. Haruno Sakura will blindly support her teammates, regardless of the circumstances, and Uchiha Sasuke… He is a tricky one. He may claim to oppose Akatsuki, but that does not mean he trusts all of Konoha entirely. He still blames us for his clan's fate. _You_ included."

"You're just as much to blame for what happened as I am," Danzo said flatly. Koharu smirked cruelly.

"Not if we manage to convince him that it was your decision alone to wipe out the Uchiha clan." Danzo froze. "I know what you have been doing all these years. Watching after little Sasuke from afar, watching him as if he were your own son… the son you never had. Am I right, Danzo?"

"Get out," Danzo growled. "I'll tell Tsunade that—"

"Oh, you can't do that, Danzo," Koharu remind him. "Don't forget: everybody thinks you are dead." Danzo smirked, despite himself.

"Not for long."

XX

**Bit of advice: don't watch Pretty Little Liars and then write a chapter on a fic about a freaking **_**war**_**. You'll add a lot of unnecessary drama and scandal. So yes, this chapter does run like a typical episode of Pretty Little Liars. Screw me.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	12. The Case of the Missing Notebook

**Wow. I haven't updated this in a while. Do you want to know my excuse? Well, I was walking down the path of life when an old lady strayed across my path. Then two assassins came out of nowhere and decided to murder said lady. Using my awesome skills as a ninja, I disposed of the assassins, ultimately saving the old lady. Now I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

XX

Sakura paced around her apartment nervously, anxiously waiting for Naruto and Sasuke to arrive. At long last, there was a knock at the door. Sakura sighed in relief as she saw both Naruto and Sasuke standing there. "Hi, Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted loudly.

"What did you want to show us?" Sasuke asked. Sakura gestured for them to follow her as she made her way over to a wooden desk in the corner of the room. She pulled a silver key out of her pocket and unlocked one of the drawers. Then…

"It's gone!" she shrieked. "No! No… no, no, no, this can't be happening!"

"What's gone?" Naruto asked.

"My notebook!" Sakura yelled. She began pulling out the drawer's contents and placing them on the desk. "No! No… I'm sure I locked this drawer! And I've had the key with me this whole time! How can it be _missing_?"

"Maybe it isn't missing," Sasuke suggested as he peered into the drawer. "Maybe someone stole it." Sakura stopped and stared up at him.

"What…" she mumbled. "What are you saying?"

"Was there something important in there?" he asked. Sakura nodded.

"Yeah, but…" she mumbled. "I don't think it'll make any sense to anyone…"

"Even so, I bet someone stole it anyway," Sasuke said flatly. "What was in there?" Sakura slumped onto the couch and covered her face with her hands.

"A translation of the writing on the wall of the Naka Shrine," she said.

"That wall Izuna wants to translate so badly?" Sasuke asked. "Why don't you just go back and translate it again?"

"It's not about the stupid translation!" Sakura snapped, tears glistening in her eyes. "Whoever has that notebook now knows what's written there!"

"What did it say?" Naruto asked. Sakura opened and closed her mouth several times, and Sasuke put his hand on her shoulder.

"Just calm down," he ordered. "What did the wall say?"

"You…" Sakura hiccupped as tears began to stream down her face. "You know the Sage of the Six Paths?"

"I know!" Naruto affirmed loudly. "Ero-Sennin talked about him all the time!"

"That guy with the original Rinnegan?" Sasuke asked. Sakura nodded.

"Uh huh," she continued. "It was a message to his sons, Uchiha Hiroshi and Senju Akihiro. He said he was happy that they were finally together, since the only way they could read the writing on the wall was if they reconciled. But he had another daughter. Yuna… something… There was another message to her, saying that he would pass the Rinnegan down to her and that she needed to reconcile Hiroshi and Akihiro at all costs. If not, then—"

"The world ends," Sasuke finished. "I've heard this story from Izuna multiple times."

"Then the writing changed," Sakura mumbled. "Almost as if the wall _knew_ I wasn't Hiroshi, Akihiro or Yuna… He said that the Uchiha and the Senju needed to reconcile within one thousand years, otherwise the world is going to end."

"Well we have plenty of time," Naruto said optimistically. "And Sasuke-teme and I are great friends, so it shouldn't be a problem!"

"No," Sasuke said. "The Sage of the Six Paths was alive one thousand years ago…" He shut his eyes pensively. "No… He was alive nine hundred and ninety-nine years ago. That means—"

"We only have one more year to reconcile you two," Sakura whispered. "Otherwise the world's going to end."

"Did the wall say anything about who gets the Rinnegan?" Sasuke asked, "or do all of Yuna's descendants get it?"

"Only the strongest in both body and mind get it," Sakura whispered. "That means I shouldn't have gotten it. So why do I have it?"

"What makes you think you're not strong in body and mind, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. "You can smash boulders with your bare hands! You faced betrayal in the worst form possible—" Sasuke visibly stiffened, "—and you're really nice!" Sakura mustered a smile.

"Thanks, Naruto," she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Sakura, there's something else you should know," Sasuke said suddenly, failing to look in her direction. "Madara isn't really Madara." Sakura frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"It's Izuna, running around and claiming to be Madara," Sasuke explained. "The real Uchiha Madara is dead. He died almost a hundred years ago." Sasuke eyes narrowed in sadness. "He was actually very nice… He fell in love with a girl named Kuwada Yuna and tried to elope with her by switching places with his brother Izuna."

"So basically Madara became Izuna and Izuna became Madara," Naruto explained.

"But Madara was good friends with Senju Hashirama, but he didn't tell him about the switch," Sasuke continued, "so Hashirama confronted Izuna as he was smuggling Madara and Yuna out of the village. They fought, and Madara and Yuna were killed in the crossfire."

"It's really sad," Naruto mumbled.

"But there's one more thing," Sasuke said. "Yuna had the Rinnegan, and the Uchiha clan wanted her for it, but she hated it, so she wanted to escape. That's why Madara tried to elope with her."

"Kuwada… Yuna?" Sakura repeated. Sasuke nodded solemnly. "How often do people get the Rinnegan? Everyone says it's extremely rare, so… How could I have gotten it when my father had it?"

"Maybe you both were really strong physically and mentally, just like you said," Naruto suggested. Sakura shook her head.

"No…" she denied. "That's really unlikely." She stood up. "Ok, first things first. We need to find my notebook. Worst case scenario, someone in cahoots with Akatsuki got their hands on it and it's on its way to Madara—"

"Izuna," Sasuke corrected.

"Izuna right now," Sakura finished.

"Or maybe you just misplaced it or you lost it," Naruto suggested.

"But I don't lose things," Sakura pointed out. She sighed and plopped back down on the couch. "This is hopeless."

"Start with the Hokage," Sasuke suggested. "Make your search more public." Sakura stood up.

"You're right," she whispered. "You're absolutely right." She turned to face Sasuke and Naruto. "I _should_ make my search more public."

* * *

Sasuke placed his two hundredth poster on the façade of a building in Konoha. "You know, when I said you should make your search more public, this isn't exactly what I had in mind," he pointed out.

"That's stupid, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, smiling. "We're posting these all over Konoha, so surely, someone's bound to find it."

"But what if said person took it out of the village?" Sasuke asked, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. "Even if they did just come across it, how do you know they're not on a mission?"

"If they are, then they'll see these posters when they get back," Sakura said as she taped a poster a few feet away from the one Sasuke put up.

"What if—"

"Lose something, Billboard Brow?" a new voice piped up. Leaning against the wall, holding up one of Sakura's posters, was Ami, one of the girls who had made Sakura's life a living hell during her Academy days. "Can't say I'm surprised." Sakura cocked an eyebrow.

"Really now, Ami-chan?" she said. "Unless you've found it, I don't see how this concerns me."

"Oh, I'm sure _this_ will concern you," she sneered as she began to rip the poster into shreds. Sakura stared impassively ahead, not reacting to Ami's slander. Ami dropped the shreds on the ground and proceeded to the next poster, ripping that up as well.

"Stop that!" Sakura cried.

"Why should I?" Ami shot back. "What about that notebook you lost is so important that you'd post posters everywhere so people will look for it? Well newsflash, Billboard Brow, this village does not revolve around you."

"I know that, it revolves around Naruto," Sakura said. "Now stop ripping up my posters." Ami smirked.

"Ok," was all she said. Sakura exhaled sharply.

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

"But I can't say anything for my friends," Ami continued. "You see, they're ripping up these posters as well." Sakura visibly paled.

"You know, Ami-_chan_, if you were really so desperate to become my apprentice, you should have just—" Sakura rambled.

"Please," Ami cut her off. "What is there for me to learn from you? You were so useless as a genin, it was a wonder your teammates didn't just ditch you right then and there." Her eyes flickered to Sasuke. "Oh wait. One of them actually _did_. He hated you so much he went to join Orochimaru just so that he could get away from you."

"Shut up!" Sakura shrieked, tears forming in her eyes.

"I thought so," Ami whispered to Sakura. She raised her eyebrows seductively at Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun, if you wanted to—"

"Pass," he said almost immediately. Ami just raised her eyebrows, turned on her heel and left. As soon as she was gone, Sakura slumped to the floor and began picking up the shreds of paper Ami left behind. Sasuke didn't even realize that she was crying until he saw her shoulders shaking. He let out a sigh as he crouched down next to Sakura. "I can't believe you're letting someone like _her_ get to you," he said to her. "I thought you were better than that." Sakura thrust the shreds of paper in front of her.

"This is hopeless!" she cried. "I'll never find that notebook!" Sasuke sighed.

"I'm sure someone will respond to the poster—" he started.

"Ami already did!" Sakura moaned. "And now she's ripping them up." Sasuke smirked.

"That's what, four or five girls?" he asked. "My _fangirls_, I might add."

"What's the point?" Sakura mumbled. "I bet that notebook's already on its way to Izuna… right now…" Sasuke stood up and held out his hand towards Sakura.

"And if it's not, you're not going to find it if you keep crying over it," Sasuke pointed out. Sakura gave a small smile and took his hand as he pulled her up.

* * *

"Koharu-sama," Ami said as she entered the elders' office. "I ripped up some of those posters like you asked." Koharu smirked, her back to Ami.

"I'm sorry, but your services will no longer be required," she said. "Both as my worker _and_ as a shinobi." Ami hesitantly took a step back.

"Wh-What do you mean?" she stuttered.

"You see, I have already contacted Haruno Sakura," Koharu explained. "I have informed one of her friends that I have found the notebook… in _Danzo's_ office…" Koharu pulled out a kunai and flashed it threateningly. Ami's eyes narrowed at it. "However, some people have already notified Haruno Sakura that they will help her look for her missing notebook. Since you failed to prevent this from happening…" The kunai gleamed in the sunlight. "I am afraid I have no more use for you." Before Ami could even bat an eyelash, the kunai flew in her direction. Unable to move, Ami watched as the kunai lodged itself in her chest.

"Wh-Why…" she mumbled as she crumpled to the floor. "I… I never did… anything wrong…"

"You see, dear," Koharu said as she walked outside her office, stepping around Ami, careful not to get any blood on her robes, "you never did anything right either." And with that, Koharu walked away, leaving Ami lying in a puddle of blood on the ground.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late," Sakura apologized to Nagato as she entered the dango shop.

"It's all right," Nagato replied. Sakura sat across from him at the table. "So I see you're missing your notebook." Sakura nodded.

"Yeah…" she mumbled. "I'm sure it'll turn up, though." She straightened up in her chair. "Anyway, this is the Fire Country's most famous dango shop. Even Itachi and Kisame stopped here when they came to Konoha after the Sandaime Hokage died." Nagato smirked.

"If Itachi and Kisame stopped here, then it _must_ be good," he said as he bit off a bit of dango. He smiled. "It's very nice." A wide grin broke across Sakura's face.

"Really?" she asked. "You like it?"

"Dango's pretty hard to come by in Amegakure," Nagato explained. "Never once have I had dango this amazing, though." Sakura giggled.

"Well I'm glad you like it," she said.

"By the way, Sakura," Nagato said, "I heard someone found your notebook." Sakura gasped.

"Really?" she asked. "Who? Where is it?"

"One of the elders Koharu found it in another elder Danzo's office," Nagato said.

"Someone from ROOT must have found it, then…" Sakura mused.

"Apparently Danzo himself found it," Nagato pointed out. Sakura frowned.

"That doesn't make any sense," she refuted. "Danzo's dead. Sasuke-kun killed him."

"Danzo is very much alive," Nagato said. Sakura visibly paled. "I'm sorry if I upset you."

"No," Sakura said. "I just… I should just…" Suddenly, a young girl with dark brown hair wearing a white uniform ran up to Sakura and Nagato's table.

"Sakura-san!" she cried. "There's a medical emergency! You must come immediately!" Sakura stood up almost immediately.

"I'm sorry I have to leave like this," she apologized to her father. "I'll pay you back later, ok?" And with that, she ran off with the dark-haired girl.

* * *

Sasuke stood near the Academy building, waiting for Naruto and Kakashi. They had promised to meet him, but they were now almost an hour late. Sasuke considered taking Sakura's advice and showing up late himself. Suddenly, Sasuke felt his body getting slammed hard against the wall. As soon as he regained his composure, he ran towards the bastard who dared to shove him. "Hey!" he shouted. He clasped the perpetrator on the shoulder, a boy shorter than him with hair as black as an oil slick. "What the hell is your problem?" The boy turned around and flashed him an obviously fake smile.

"Oh I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun," the boy said. Sasuke frowned. Wasn't he his replacement on Team Seven? "Actually, I'm not sorry. Danzo-sama requested that—"

"Danzo?" Sasuke repeated. "Danzo's dead." The boy Sai smiled again.

"No he isn't," he replied. "You failed to kill him during your rampage." And with that, he walked away, leaving Sasuke speechless. Sasuke's hands balled into fists as he glared at Sai.

"Yo," Kakashi greeted from the tree above. "I see you've met Sai."

"I had the pleasure of meeting him before," Sasuke said through gritted teeth.

"I take it you're not too happy to find out that Danzo's still alive?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke sighed.

"You have no idea," he mumbled bitterly.

"So the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre _has_ taken a toll on you emotionally…" Kakashi moved.

"Kakashi," Sasuke said sharply. "If we ever have to fight the elders… please allow me to kill them myself." Kakashi's eyes narrowed in sadness.

"I can't make any promises, Sasuke," he replied solemnly. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you something. I want you to stay over at my house tonight."

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"Because… strange things are happening in this village," Kakashi replied uncertainly. "And, considering the way Sai treated you just now, you could be an easy target. Don't worry. Naruto will be staying over too."

"What about Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"She has her father there to protect her if necessary," Kakashi replied. "So why don't you go pack your things and bring them over to my house?"

* * *

Sakura scribbled away in the chart as she sat next to a hospital bed. It was past midnight, and she was tired. Just about an hour ago, she was forced to operate on a girl who was stabbed in the chest dangerously close to one of her vital spots. "Please say something…" Ami mumbled from the hospital bed. She clutched the sheets and fixed her gaze on them, refusing to look in Sakura's direction. Sakura clicked the pen closed and set it along with the clipboard down on her lap.

"You're lucky to be alive," she said. "Had that kunai gone just a few centimeters to the left, you would be dead by now."

"Why…" Ami whispered. "Why did you save me?" Sakura set the clipboard on the table next to Ami's hospital bed.

"One, it's my job," Sakura replied, betraying no hint of emotion. "Two, no one, not even you, not even the worst possible Akatsuki member deserves to be stabbed like that for no apparent reason."

"How do you know there wasn't any deeper reason behind it?" Ami asked hesitantly.

"I took a peek into your mission records," Sakura said simply. "You don't have any serious enemies… No one that would hate you so much that they'd want to kill you." Sakura leaned in towards Ami. "But I have to ask you… who did this to you?" Ami shook her head.

"N-No…" she stuttered, tears streaming down her face. "No… If I tell you, she'll kill me… I… I can't… I can't tell anyone…" Sakura took Ami's hand and squeezed it gently.

"It's all right, Ami-chan," Sakura said soothingly. "Everything's fine. I'll protect you from this person. Just tell me who did this to you." Ami's lip quivered as she shook her head. "Ami-chan…"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she whispered. Sakura sighed.

"Ami-chan, my teammate abandoned me three years ago," Sakura told her, "because he wanted to kill the man who massacred his clan. Then he joined up with Akatsuki after killing his clan's murderer, claiming that he turned evil, but actually tried tearing the organization down from the inside. If I can handle that, I can handle anything you throw at me." Ami lifted her head slowly and stared at Sakura directly in the eye.

"_Koharu_."

XX

**Now that was a relatively long chapter that had relatively nothing going on. Oh well. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	13. No More Lies

**Hi everyone. I got lost on the path of life again. And then I had to help an old lady cross the street. And then a black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long way around. Anyway, enjoy!**

XX

Sakura sighed as she sat cross-legged on the floor of her house. Naruto was sprawled across one couch and Nagato and Sasuke were both sitting quietly on another one. "Now I'm even more confused," Sakura complained. "_Danzo_ has my notebook. He's supposed to be _dead_. And then _Koharu_ stabbed _Ami_ because she failed to stop me from making my missing notebook public."

"Why can't Tsunade _baa-chan_ just replace the elders already?" Naruto whined.

"What is _up_ with them?" Sakura asked rhetorically. "What do they even _do_?" No one took notice of Sasuke's silence.

"This _sucks_!" Naruto yelled. "Now we have to deal with both Madara—"

"Izuna," Sasuke corrected.

"Izuna _and_ the elders?" Naruto finished. "That's insane!"

"Insane, but not impossible," Nagato said. Sakura sighed again.

"Do you have any input on this, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"Are you sure Koharu stabbed Ami?" Sasuke asked.

"Well…" Sakura mumbled. "Yeah… That's what Ami said."

"How do you know she wasn't lying?" Sasuke asked rhetorically. Sakura's face seemed to light up.

"You're right…" she said quietly.

* * *

"Hello, Ami-chan!" Sakura greeted as she entered Ami's hospital room, Karin close behind her. "This is Karin-chan. I don't know if you've met her already." Ami shook her head slowly.

"No…" she said slowly.

"That's fine then," Sakura said, grinning broadly. "So anyway, I want you to tell Karin-chan exactly what you told me." Ami stared at Sakura quizzically.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I'm helping Sakura," Karin answered before Sakura could say anything else. "So far, we've learned that the elders have her missing notebook. Any input you have would be valuable to us." Ami exhaled slowly.

"Ok…" she mumbled. "I was called up to Tsunade-sama's office, but when I went up there, I found Koharu-sama there instead. Koharu-sama told me she had a special mission for me and that I would be promoted to Chuunin if I succeeded. She told me that she stole Sakura's notebook and that she wanted me to stop all of her attempts to find it. So I did, but when I went back to her, she tried to kill me because I failed my mission."

"Great!" Karin said, clapping her hands together. "Thank you, Ami-chan! Sakura, do you want to come with me?" She jerked her head towards the door, and Sakura followed, muttering a quick goodbye to Ami as she did so.

"Well?" Sakura asked as soon as they were well away from Ami's room in the hospital.

"She definitely wasn't lying," Karin said flatly. Sakura sighed in relief.

"Good…" she mumbled. "The last thing I need is _another_ enemy." The two walked in silence for a few minutes. "Um… Karin… Sasuke-kun kind of… well, he acted kind of strangely when I mentioned the elders."

"Sakura, it doesn't matter how innocent you or anyone else for that matter thinks he is," Karin said seriously. "He _hates_ the elders, and that's not going to change, no matter how much he wants to follow in his brother's footsteps. Even if he wants to save Konoha, his emotions will _probably_ get in the way, and he'll go after the elders himself."

"But—"

"Look, if you know what's best for everyone, then you _won't_ bring Sasuke with you when you go to get your notebook back," Karin insisted. "At least he doesn't know that Danzo's still alive." Sakura fell silent. "You told him, didn't you?" Sakura nodded slowly. Karin smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Sakura, you _idiot_."

"Well what else was I supposed to do?" Sakura asked, her voice shaking. "I mean… he of all people should know, right?"

"Yeah, but _not now_," Karin emphasized. "Now tell him you don't want him anywhere near you while you get your notebook, ok?"

"But—"

"Just do it, Sakura," Karin said with finality as she broke into a long stride, leaving Sakura behind.

* * *

Sasuke stirred his ramen with his chopsticks aimlessly, casting a few momentary glances at Naruto who was happily gobbling down his fourth bowl. "Any news from Sakura?" he asked suddenly. Naruto lifted his bowl up to his mouth and drained it of the remaining liquid.

"Sasuke-teme," he said, releasing a long sigh when he was done, "the last time I saw her was this morning. You were there."

"I know, but—"

"Look, if you're really so worried, then ask her yourself," Naruto suggested. Suddenly, without warning, Sakura plopped down into a stool next to Sasuke.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," she apologized.

"Well?" Sasuke prompted without any greeting. Sakura just rolled her eyes.

"Ami-chan _definitely_ wasn't lying," she said. "Karin confirmed it."

"Wow…" Naruto mumbled. "So the elders are definitely evil."

"Was that ever a doubt?" Sasuke hissed at them. Sakura gazed over at him concernedly, but didn't say anything in response.

"Our best bet would be getting my notebook back without letting on that we know what they're up to," Sakura said.

"But we _don't_ know what they're up to!" Naruto protested. "They could be working for Akatsuki for all we know!"

"All we know is that they're up to something," Sakura said steadily. "We can't just blindly jump to conclusions. We need to look into this first." Sakura used her chopsticks to send a few noodles of ramen into her mouth. "We'll sneak into their office and get my notebook back first. We'll worry about their ulterior motives later."

"When are we going to do this?" Sasuke asked.

"Naruto and I will go in tonight," Sakura replied. "You're not coming."

* * *

Needless to say, convincing Sasuke not to come to retrieve Sakura's notebook was a lot harder than it sounded when Karin first mentioned it. Still, Naruto and Sakura found themselves in the elders' office in the dead of night, the full moon shining in the sky. "Right," Naruto said. "All we need to do is find your notebook."

"It has to be here _somewhere_," Sakura whispered as she picked the lock on one drawer with a kunai. "And keep your voice down. This place is on constant surveillance."

"Let's make this work a little quicker," Naruto whispered. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Four other Naruto's appeared next to the original ones.

"Dispel those now!" Sakura hissed at him. "The last thing we need is them making a mess of things here!"

"All right, all right," Naruto grumbled as his clones disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sakura rummaged through the various drawers at the main desk in the center of the office, but to no avail.

"Damn it, it's no good," Sakura grumbled. "I can't find it." Suddenly, the door creaked open. Sakura froze and gasped as Naruto scrambled to hide, knocking over a vase in the process, effectively shattering it. To Sakura's relief and rage, it was only Sasuke. "What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed. "I told you not to come!"

"And I didn't listen," Sasuke replied bluntly. "End of story."

"Go back!" Sakura ordered. "If you—"

"What, you think I can't handle a little blackmail on the elders?" Sasuke retorted. "I'll be fine." Sakura sighed and nodded, and Sasuke proceeded to help her and Naruto search for the red notebook. The three were interrupted once more when the lights in the room suddenly flickered on.

"Looking for this?" came a sickeningly familiar voice. Danzo stood at the doorway, holding Sakura's red notebook in one hand and dangling it in the air. Sakura held her breath.

"What's your angle?" she asked after a long pause. She noticed how Sasuke visibly stiffened next to her. A cold smirk crossed Danzo's wrinkly face.

"Who said I have to have an angle?" he replied cryptically. "Who said I can't just help you out of the goodness of my heart?" Sakura took a step back so that she was closer to Sasuke. She kept casting nervous glances in his direction, hoping he wouldn't say or do anything that would throw off the entire operation. Fortunately, Sasuke was completely still. So still, he seemed almost petrified in some unidentifiable emotion. Some ugly combination of anger, rage, shock, grief and sorrow.

"Because that doesn't sound like something you'd do," Naruto answered for Sakura.

"But do any of you know me at all?" Danzo retorted. "The one who knows me best in this room is young Sasuke here," he gestured towards Sasuke, whose eyes narrowed slightly, "and even he doesn't know me that well." Danzo stepped forward, and the door slammed behind him, making Naruto and Sakura jump. "What if I told you three that I was here to help you?"

"What if we said we didn't believe you?" Sasuke said finally, through gritted teeth. Sharingan activated, he looked absolutely furious. He drew his katana and stepped towards Danzo, his eye narrowed into a glare. "Give me one good reason why we should believe anything you say." In his free hand crackled blue electricity.

"Sasuke-kun, calm down…" Sakura whispered so quietly, she wasn't sure he even heard her. Sasuke shut his eyes for a moment, and when he reopened them, the Mangekyou Sharingan spun in them.

"_Amate_—"

"Stop!" Naruto and Sakura yelled simultaneously. Sakura had grabbed Sasuke's hand and Naruto had slid in between him and Danzo. "This isn't getting us anywhere!" Sakura continued.

"How are you still alive?" Sasuke yelled at Danzo.

"Simple," Danzo replied flatly. "I faked my own death."

"But I saw Madara take your body," Sasuke insisted, his Sharingan spinning.

"Kage Bunshin," Danzo said simply. Sakura, who had been taking painstaking care not to get too close to Sasuke's Chidori, saw it slowly deactivate.

"But why would you pretend to be dead all this time?" she asked. Danzo's eye narrowed.

"I had to see how serious Koharu and Homura were about Akatsuki," Danzo explained. Sakura's eyes widened.

"Akatsuki?" she repeated. "But—"

"Sasuke, did you find it at all odd that they would choose to wipe out your entire clan instead of just the shinobi that stood in our way?" Danzo asked rhetorically. "The children, the civilians, the elderly, the sick… Why else do you think they were murdered?" Sasuke clenched his fists and shook his head stubbornly.

"No!" he shouted. "That's a lie!"

"Think about it," Danzo said. "If I was _really_ serious about silencing you before, I would have defeated you in a matter of minutes instead of toying with you and letting you have your vengeance." Sakura slowly released Sasuke's hand, and the Uchiha started shaking uncontrollably.

"No…" he whispered. "That… That can't be true…"

"So you're _innocent_ in all of this?" Naruto yelled. "That's bull!" Sakura rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"Hmm…" she mumbled. "Now that I think about it… It _does_ kind of make sense…"

"No," Sasuke said flatly. "I refuse to accept it."

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura mumbled quietly.

"Koharu and Homura made a deal with Madara," Danzo continued. "They would get rid of the Uchiha clan and relay information about Konoha to Madara, and, in exchange, Madara would give them power."

"That's a lie!" Sasuke growled.

"The Uchiha clan really was planning a coup," Danzo continued as if Sasuke hadn't said a thing. "It was Koharu and Homura's decision to wipe out the entire clan. Hiruzen and I were against it from the beginning. It would have been a fool proof plan, but Itachi did something no one really expected." His eye narrowed in on Sasuke. "He spared your life. Are you aware that Koharu and Homura have ordered numerous people to assassinate you?" Sasuke clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on his katana. "Itachi personally requested that I keep you safe. What Koharu and Homura made him do was so wrong on so many levels, so I did everything in my power to respect his wishes. Up until you left Konoha, I've had my highest-ranking ROOT members watch over you, to make sure you were safe, to stop any and all assassination attempts against you." Danzo's gaze drifted over to Naruto and Sakura. "Once you were placed into a genin team, I let my ROOT members relax a bit. They watched you even more closely once Orochimaru afflicted you with his curse seal."

"You're lying," Sasuke spat. "I couldn't detect any outside chakra those days. No one was watching me." Danzo's eye narrowed slightly.

"There is a reason why I asked only my highest ranking ROOT members to watch over you," Danzo said. "They were able to keep careful watch over you while scrutinizing the perimeter for perpetrators and concealing their chakra at the same time." Sasuke clenched and unclenched his fists several times, unsure of what to make of the situation.

"Maybe you really are here to help us…" Sakura whispered as she clasped Sasuke's hand tightly.

"He's telling the truth," Naruto said confidently. "I know for sure he is."

"How?" Sasuke asked, his voice rather weak.

"I activated my Sage chakra the minute he arrived," Naruto explained, "and I've been keeping tabs on his chakra ever since. It hasn't fluctuated once. He's telling the truth."

"Here," Danzo said as he held out the red notebook towards Sakura. Sakura took it hesitantly and flipped through its pages. Sure enough, the page with the translation of the Naka Shrine was there, still intact. Sakura felt Sasuke's clammy hand slip out of hers as Sasuke slumped to the floor. His face seemed paler than usual, his Sharingan was deactivated and his body was shaking. Sakura sighed.

"Let's go," she whispered. "Um… Thank you, Danzo-sama… I'm sorry I ever doubted you." Danzo's mouth curved into a smile.

"That's all right," he said. "Right now I am the least of your worries. We need to focus on stopping—"

"Us?" Danzo whirled around, and Sasuke stood up. Standing at the door were two dark silhouettes. One of the figures moved to the right and flipped on a switch, and light flooded the room. It was Koharu and Homura.

XX

**Whew! That took a while. Now I'm more motivated than ever to continue this story! Anyway, is it just me, or is the manga getting RIDICULOUSLY boring? You'd **_**think**_** a war would be **_**interesting**_**… Anyway, don't just read and move on. REVIEW! Please?**


	14. Betrayal

**OH GOOD GOD. WHY, NEJI, WHY? That is all. Enjoy your chapter.**

XX

Karin flopped over on her stomach, unable to catch any sleep. She sighed irritably as she forced her eyes shut and pushed all her thoughts into the darkest corners of her mind. She just wanted to sleep, but the more she thought about Sasuke and Sakura, the harder she found it to sleep. She smirked slightly; just a few months ago, she was helping Sasuke destroy Konoha, and now she was helping him and his former teammate save it. She loved Sasuke unconditionally before, or so she thought until he stabbed her with his Chidori. But now she was sure that Sakura felt the same way about him, if not more so. And the part that confused her most of all was that Sasuke probably felt the same way. She saw the way he watched her, how he was so ready to protect her from everything that meant her harm. It was sweet, really. Almost sickeningly so.

Karin was snapped out of reverie by a sudden rap at the door. Karin glanced over at her clock. _2:30_. Who could that be at this hour? Still, she pushed herself off her bed with a grunt and dragged her feet over to the door. She opened it and saw Suigetsu, her eyes widening slightly. "Hey…" she mumbled. "Is something wrong? What are you doing here at 2:30 in the morning?" Suigetsu jerked his head aside.

"Can we talk?" he asked. Karin's eyes narrowed slightly as she gave his chakra a once-over. Sure enough, it was the real Suigetsu. So she let him inside. Suigetsu unceremoniously flopped onto her bed, earning him a glare from Karin. "So…" he drawled out awkwardly.

"So…" Karin repeated awkwardly, pointedly looking away from him. "What did you want to talk to me about?" Suigetsu gave a heavy sigh.

"This is going to make me sound gay," he whined. Karin's eyes narrowed.

"Do you…" he said slowly. "Do you ever worry about Sasuke and Sakura?" That question caught her off guard. Sure she worried about them. Ever since Sakura got the Rinnegan and Sasuke was proved innocent, she worried about them every moment of every day. She was worried that Sakura would get kidnapped by Akatsuki or some other enemy, and that worry actually became a reality just about a month ago. Not that she would ever say this out loud, but if Suigetsu weren't there to save her, she wouldn't know what to do. She was worried that Sasuke's emotions would one day get the better of him, like what she thought happened to him after Madara – err, _Izuna_ – told him the truth about his brother. Even though he claimed to want only to follow in Itachi's footsteps and protect Konoha and Sakura, he still harbored a deep loathing for Konoha's council. She could see that in the way his chakra fluctuated every time someone mentioned the elders. It was only a matter of time before he completely snapped and went crazy. It _was_ rather reassuring to know that Sasuke's behavior at the Land of Iron was faked, but it still scared her to think of what would happen if his grief for his loss overwhelmed him. And she was worried that Sakura trusted Sasuke a little too much. So much that she wouldn't feel the need to watch over him when Danzo, Koharu and Homura were involved.

"Obviously," she said quietly. Suigetsu gave a tremendous sigh of relief.

"Well that's good," he said, grinning. "I thought I was the only one." Karin gave him a wry smile.

"Well, you're not," she assured him. She shoved him over and lay on her bed next to him.

"So what do you think they're doing now?" Suigetsu asked, turning his head towards Karin.

"Well Sakura said she was going to sneak into Danzo's office and get her notebook back," Karin told him, still staring at the ceiling.

"She didn't take Sasuke with her, did she?" Suigetsu asked, now turning onto his side. Karin turned onto her side to face Suigetsu.

"I don't think she did," she mumbled. "I told her not to." Suigetsu sighed, and the two lay in silence. Then, Suigetsu suddenly shot up.

"What if he's over there right now?" he asked. "At Danzo's office. With Sakura." Karin's eyes widened as she sat up.

"Sakura _must _have told him not to come," she whispered, more to herself than to Suigetsu, "but…" Her face paled as realization dawned on her face. "Sasuke must have gone anyway."

"That's bad," Suigetsu gasped. Karin scoffed as she tied her long black hair into a ponytail and opened the door.

"That's got to be the understatement of the century," she grumbled. "Come on! We have to stop him!"

"Right!" Suigetsu affirmed as he followed Karin out.

* * *

Sasuke was gone before Sakura could even bat an eyelash. He charged straight at Koharu and Homura, his sword drawn. He swung his sword at Koharu, who blocked it with a kunai effortlessly. She then pressed two fingers into his chest, and Sasuke was sent flying backwards. Sakura turned to look at him, wanting to do something to help, but she couldn't move. Part of her didn't want to. "Sasuke," Danzo said cautiously. "Don't just blindly rush into battle. Think this through first." Sasuke scowled at Koharu and Homura; Sakura wasn't even sure he heard Danzo.

"What do you want?" Naruto demanded. Homura pointed to the red notebook in Sakura's hands. Sakura's eyes widened.

"M-My notebook?" she stuttered.

"But of course," Koharu said simply. "You have some information there that Madara-sama wants."

"Izuna!" Sasuke yelled. "It's Izuna! How many times do I have to say it? The real Uchiha Madara was innocent!" Sakura glanced back at him worriedly. If he was losing his temper over something so trivial, there was no saying what else he would do. To everyone's surprise, Koharu smirked.

"Well, then Izuna it is then," she drawled. "Whoever he is, he wants the information in that notebook. Whatever was written on the wall of the Naka Shrine." Sakura took a step back and clutched the notebook closer towards her chest. Sasuke clenched his fists and continued to glare at Koharu and Homura, Mangekyou Sharingan spinning in his eyes. He stood up, and…

"_Tsukuyomi_," he said as the Mangekyou Sharingan stopped spinning.

"Insufficient," Koharu snapped back, her gaze alert. Sasuke fell back, panting. Sakura looked to Sasuke again, unsure of what to do. Shock crossed Sasuke's face briefly, and the expression was quickly replaced by one of determination.

"_Amaterasu_," he snarled. Black flames shot straight towards Koharu and Homura, but twin silver rings on their fingers glowed simultaneously, and a diaphanous barrier of pale blue chakra formed around them. Both were completely unharmed by the black flames. The held up their hands together.

"Special protection rings, a gift from Madara-sama," Homura introduced. Sasuke didn't even bother to correct him.

"Your little Sharingan tricks won't work on us, Uchiha," Koharu added, smirking. Sakura remained where she was. _You have the Rinnegan_, said a small voice in the back of her head. _Use it._ But she couldn't, and she almost didn't want to. She couldn't do anything but watch.

* * *

Karin and Suigetsu sprinted through the deserted streets of Konoha. "So, where to?" Suigetsu asked, looking back at Karin, who was a few feet behind him.

"Let's just go up to the elders' office," Karin suggested. "We just need to check if Sasuke's there. If he isn't, then we can go back home."

"Then what if he's there?" Suigetsu asked. Karin fell silent.

"I don't—" She stopped talking immediately as she crashed into Suigetsu, who had suddenly stopped. The force with which she hit him was enough to send him crashing down. Only after they'd hit the ground did she realize that there was someone else underneath them. "Hey! What are you doing up? The people of Konoha don't really trust you, you know, so you should—"

"My daughter disappeared from her bed," Nagato said, standing up and dusting himself off. Though he was frail-looking, Karin still felt rather intimidated by him. "I am simply looking for her. Do either of you know where she is?" Karin and Suigetsu exchanged nervous glances.

"Um…" Suigetsu mumbled. "Well…"

"She went to Danzo's office to get her notebook back," Karin explained. "We were just on our way over there." Nagato raised one eyebrow.

"Why?" he asked. "Surely she's not alone?"

"Naruto's probably with her," Suigetsu remarked. "And maybe Sasuke too."

"But hopefully not Sasuke," Karin added.

"Yeah, that would be bad," Suigetsu agreed.

"Wait," Nagato interrupted. "Why is it so horrible for Sasuke to be there?"

"Because he'll go crazy," Karin and Suigetsu said simultaneously. Nagato's mouth formed a hard line and his expression grew blank.

"I see," he said. "I shall go up to the Danzo's office then. You two should get back to bed." Karin looked to Suigetsu, unsure of what to do. Suigetsu was just as clueless as her.

"What should we do?" he whispered.

"I don't know," Karin answered honestly. "He has the _Rinnegan_."

"Which means he can probably do more than the two of us combined," Suigetsu concluded. The two turned to face Nagato.

"All right," Karin said. "Just hurry." Nagato nodded in affirmation before turning on his heel and striding towards Danzo's office.

* * *

Back during Team Seven's mission at the Land of Waves, Naruto had completely frozen in fear when the Demon Brothers attacked. Sakura had laughed at him then and called him a coward. Now she was doing the exact same thing. Now she was the coward. But no matter how much she berated herself, she couldn't bring herself to do anything. She was too afraid of what would happen and too confused about the sudden turn of events. She felt like she was a genin again, always getting in the way, too weak to do anything on her own. Now things were moving fast, and there was nothing she could do to stop them. "Sakura," Sasuke practically growled. "You have the Rinnegan. Use it." But she couldn't. There was nothing she could do but stand there and watch the scene unfold.

"Well," Koharu drawled. "Who to kill first?"

"Why don't we start with Danzo?" Homura suggested. "He betrayed us, after all."

"Or we can get rid of the girl with the Rinnegan," Koharu added. Homura shook his head.

"No," he said firmly. "Madara-sama specifically said he wanted that girl alive." Sakura gasped, and all will to fight disappeared entirely.

"Well then why don't we get rid of the Uchiha brat first?" Koharu asked. "He's been a thorn in our backsides since Itachi's mission."

"I agree," Homura concurred.

"No way!" Naruto yelled as he slid in front of Sasuke.

"You idiot!" Sasuke yelled. "They're after you too!" He turned to Sakura, looking slightly desperate. "Sakura, do something!" Sakura remained frozen.

"Why don't we just take them all to Madara-sama?" Homura asked. "After killing Danzo, of course."

"Not on my watch." Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Danzo turned to the source of the voice. At the windowsill stood a man, his silvery hair whipping around his face. The Rinnegan shone in his eyes, and Sakura's eyes averted to the floor.

"_Otou-san_…" she mumbled quietly. Nagato charged straight at Koharu and Homura and locked in a deadly duel with the both of them. They fought with kunai, constantly hacking and slashing at each other. Nagato was outnumbered, but the Rinnegan gave him an advantage. He turned back to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, help me," he said firmly. "With the sage's power, my Rinnegan, combined with your Mangekyou Sharingan… We could do almost anything." Sasuke nodded and charged at Koharu and Homura, his katana drawn. "Of course, you need to use your _Tsukuyomi_ at the perfect moment."

"Understood," Sasuke said in a low voice as he swung his Chidori-lined blade at Koharu. "Naruto, Sakura, get out of here!"

"No!" Naruto protested. "We're staying!" Then the unexpected happened. Koharu and Homura swerved around Sasuke, somehow pushing him violently into the wall, drew two swords, and plunged them into Nagato.

"NO!" Sakura screamed, finally finding her voice. Quick as lightning, the elders yanked the swords out of Nagato's body, earning a grunt from the injured man, and plunged them into him again. Sakura collapsed onto her knees. Everything was falling apart. Everything was over.

"Stop," Danzo said suddenly, pointing two trench knives at both Koharu and Homura. "You have three seconds to leave before I drive these trench knives into your vital points. One." Koharu and Homura shifted slightly. "Two." Homura grasped Koharu's hand. "Three." They disappeared just as Danzo proceeded to stab them.

* * *

"YOSH!" Lee yelled. "We survived this war! Behold the power of _youth_!" Tenten gave an irritable sigh.

"We just survived one battle, Lee," she reminded him.

"There will be many more to come," Neji added solemnly.

"M-Maybe with Sakura-chan's R-Rinnegan and N-Naruto-kun's new powers, w-we can actually win," Hinata said hopefully.

"SO YOUTHFUL!" Lee screamed. "So much more youthful than your unyouthful cousin!" Neji scoffed.

"Lee," Tenten groaned. "Just drop the youth already." Neji drew to a halt as he gazed around the empty streets.

"Much has changed in this village since we left for war," he observed.

"I-I heard Tsunade-sama m-made the civilians evacuate," Hinata stuttered. Tenten shook her head as she stood next to Neji.

"It's not that," she objected.

"Sakura-san now has the Rinnegan," Lee pointed out. "The most powerful dojutsu in this world!"

"Well it won't be of much use if she doesn't even know how to use it," Tenten grumbled.

"A-And Sasuke-kun returned," Hinata added. "H-He was innocent this whole time."

"I don't buy it," Neji insisted. "He's still going to stab this village in the back. I can tell."

"M-Maybe he really did c-come back to protect S-Sakura-chan…_"_ Hinata mused.

"But Naruto and Sakura always did place a little too much faith in him," Tenten pointed out.

"But Inoichi-san scanned his mind," Lee said. "He said that Sasuke-kun really did just want to follow in his brother's footsteps."

"I thought Uchiha Itachi was the enemy," Neji objected.

"Well he's not," Tenten retorted.

"Why?" Neji asked.

"It's really complicated," Tenten said. "Something about a coup d'état on the Uchiha clan's part and corruption and hypocrisy on the council's part."

"Either way, Itachi-kun was innocent," Lee concluded.

"Wh-What do we do now?" Hinata asked.

"Let us go home for now, Hinata-sama," Neji advised. "We will discuss our future plans tomorrow morning."

"Training tomorrow, Neji?" Tenten asked.

"But of course," Neji replied, smirking.

"YOSH!" Lee yelled. "I will do five hundred pushups and seven hundred laps around the village!"

"Lee," Tenten grumbled. "You'll wake up the whole village!"

"Sorry," Lee apologized in a much quieter voice.

* * *

"One," Sakura counted as she moved her glowing green hands across Nagato's wounds. "Two. Three. Four." Her shoulders sagged slightly, but her face remained completely devoid of any emotion. "They got you in four vital spots." Naruto and Sasuke didn't say anything, but the unasked question still lingered in the air: "Why didn't you use your Rinnegan to fight them?" Sakura could have given a myriad of excuses. She didn't know how to use the Rinnegan for one, she didn't know what exactly it did and… The list went on.

"It looks like my time is up…" Nagato croaked. "Again." Sasuke kept his eyes fixed on Sakura. He didn't know what unnerved him more: the sudden turn of events or Sakura's complete lack of emotion. He wanted her to cry, scream or do _something_. But she didn't. It was as if she'd become a completely different person within the past hour or so.

"Hang in there, Nagato!" Naruto yelled. "Sakura-chan can still heal you!"

"No I can't," Sakura whispered. "Vital spots are impossible to heal, and Koharu and Homura got you in four of them." She exhaled sharply. "I'm sorry."

"You can't blame yourself," Nagato objected, reaching a hand up towards her. "Sakura… I may have only known you for a short while… but I would not give that time up for anything." Sakura shook her head. "Sasuke… protect her… and continue following in Itachi's footsteps." Sasuke nodded affirmatively. "Naruto… the fate of this shinobi world depends on… you…"

"I know," Naruto said sharply. "You told me that last time you died." Nagato's hand fell to his side, and the Rinnegan disappeared from his eyes, leaving them a cloudy gray.

"Amegakure…" he choked. "That is where your mother is." Naruto and Sasuke turned to look at Sakura. "Find her… and tell her… what happened…" He let out a groan and his eyes glazed over. Sakura bent her head and choked out a sob, tears spilling out of her eyes.

XX

**I fail at writing death scenes. Screw me. Anyway, back to chapter 539. WHY, NEJI, WHY? You know, there's proof that "evil Neji" may be a fake. You never see his Byakugan or his caged bird seal. I don't really agree with the theory that he's being possessed by Itachi's genjutsu or Nagato's Rinnegan. I'm almost positive it's an imposter. Wouldn't it be cool if Sasuke finally decided to make an appearance by impersonating Neji? But I guess that would mean he killed Neji then… Oh well. And was anyone else excited to see Sakura in an actual role instead of in just one panel? Hopefully we'll get to see her skills and (maybe) badassery?**

**Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!**


	15. Aftermath

Despite all that had happened in the elders' office, it really was a quiet night. Everything was illuminated by the full moon and the stars, all completely visible in the cloudless black sky. Kakashi had mentioned that Neji, Tenten, Lee and Hinata had arrived earlier as well. Was the war finally slowing down? Sakura sure hoped so. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. Everything was happening so fast… It was hard to keep track of it all. Now Sakura sat on the roof of Kakashi's house, staring absentmindedly into the distance, hugging her knees to her chest. Her heart felt heavy, especially after Nagato's quick, unceremonious burial. Kakashi promised he'd talk to Tsunade to get his name carved on the memorial, but everyone knew how bleak that prospect was. Regardless of his role as Sakura's father and the driving force in revealing Koharu and Homura's true natures, people still viewed him in the same manner – he wasn't Nagato, Sakura's father; he was Pein, the cold and ruthless Akatsuki leader that completely decimated the village just months before. And if the village saw him as such, there was no way they'd acknowledge his service and sacrifice for them. There was no way they'd allow his name to be engraved on their memorial. After all, he wasn't even native of Konoha.

Sakura sighed. She'd stopped crying for her father hours ago. She figured she should have cried some more, or at least mourned for him. But nothing. His death didn't leave much more of an impact than Chiyo's did, and that scared Sakura. Was she turning completely heartless? Was the war twisting her into something she feared, something she despised? Most of all, she felt guilty. Guilty for not crying over her father's death, guilty for not doing anything to stop Koharu and Homura for killing him, guilty for making such a drastic move without much thought and dragging her friends and family into it. It scared her that Sasuke and Naruto could just as easily have been killed that night. And then the guilt returned. She would have felt more strongly had Sasuke died instead of Nagato, and she couldn't change that, no matter how many times she tried to convince herself otherwise.

She wasn't terribly upset, but she was definitely disappointed. Disappointed with herself because of her inability (and refusal) to do anything to stop things from happening the way they did. Disappointed that she never really got to know her father, disappointed that he never got around to teaching her how to properly use the Rinnegan. _No_, she mentally chided herself. _I'm being selfish._ But she couldn't stop those thoughts, and that just made her feel worse about herself. She was a selfish girl with an amazing eye jutsu that she didn't even know how to properly use. So essentially she was useless. She hugged her knees tighter towards her chest and let out a heavy sigh. "I see you're handling your father's death a lot more easily than I would have suspected." Sakura practically jumped as Kakashi sat gingerly next to her on the roof. Sakura sighed again.

"I know I should feel worse about this," she mumbled, "but I can't." Kakashi cocked his head to the side.

"Is this all you've been thinking about since he died?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Sakura exhaled, hugging her knees tighter. Kakashi gave her a gentle smile and placed his hand on the top of her head, ruffling her hair.

"Then you're taking this a lot harder than you think you are," he said simply. Sakura gasped as she released her knees, letting her legs fall unceremoniously to the slanted roof.

"Really?" she gasped. "I am?"

"It's perfectly normal," Kakashi said. "The way I see it, you're still shaken up about what happened. You're upset that you couldn't do anything to prevent things from happening, and you regret not spending more time with your father." Sakura forced herself to look away from her sensei's masked face, her eyes wide. It was as if he read her mind. "But, when people suddenly lose their loved ones, they go through this period of confusion and regret _before_ grieving for them." Sakura stared down at her bare legs, and then everything unraveled. Tears began spilling out of her eyes and her shoulders shook with sobs. She was thankful that Kakashi chose that moment to wrap his arm around her and hug her close to him. "There," he said softly. "Let it all out." And then Sakura just cried. She didn't know how did, but she knew she didn't want to stop.

* * *

It was four in the morning by the time Sakura and Kakashi had descended back down into the house. Sasuke stood at the stove, holding the handle of a pot with one hand and holding a large wooden spoon and stirring its contents with the other. Naruto sat at the table, gobbling down something on his plate so quickly, it was a wonder he didn't choke. He paused momentarily to grin goofily at Sakura and Kakashi.

"Hey," he said, his mouth full with food. "We were hungry, so Sasuke-teme's cooking."

"_You_ were hungry," Sasuke amended, "and swallow before you talk, idiot." He turned off the stove and carried the pot over to the table, pouring its contents onto Naruto's plate. Naruto took one bite, and then spit it out immediately.

"What the hell, teme?" he cried. "Are you trying to poison me or something?" Kakashi strode over to the stove and picked up the milk carton sitting on the countertop next to it. He examined the box, his eye narrowing slightly.

"This milk is expired," he said. "Didn't you check?"

"Isn't the expiration date the twenty-ninth?" Sasuke asked. "That's today." Kakashi shook his head.

"No, the expiration date's the twenty-fourth," he corrected.

"Let me see," Sasuke grumbled before snatching the carton away from Kakashi. He squinted at the side of the carton and, for the most part, all he could make out was a near unintelligible blur. "No, it says the twenty-ninth."

"Sasuke…" Kakashi mumbled wearily. Without warning, he stepped five steps backward and held up three fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?" Sasuke squinted at his hand.

"Four?" he guessed. "No, eight. I mean—"

"Lay off your Sharingan for a while," Kakashi instructed. "Sakura, check his eyes." Sakura nodded hesitantly and stood on her toes to examine his face. Using one thumb to pull up the skin above his eye and the other to pull down the skin below his eye, she squinted into his obsidian black eyes. They weren't quite as dark as they were before, now taking on a grayish hue. "You've been overusing your Mangekyou Sharingan again, haven't you?" Sasuke remained silent. "Did you use it tonight?"

"Yeah he did," Naruto answered for him.

"Koharu and Homura had these weird rings that made them immune to it," Sakura added.

"And, judging based on how you usually act, you just kept attacking them with the Mangekyou Sharingan?" Kakashi guessed.

"Yeah, only he combined it with Nagato's Rinnegan," Naruto corrected. Sakura winced, and Naruto immediately apologized. Kakashi gave a heavy sigh.

"I thought you had the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, Sasuke," Kakashi said.

"I do," Sasuke snapped back.

"But then back when he and the Raikage came to tell me everything he did this weird Mangekyou Sharingan thing," Naruto pointed out.

"Did he say what it was?" Sakura asked.

"Iga… nari?" Naruto asked. "I don't know. Something weird that started with an I."

"_Izanagi_," Kakashi said, sighing and slamming his hands down on the table. "Sasuke, you need to get your eyes checked out."

"Sakura, you do it," Sasuke ordered.

"You'll be better getting your eyes checked by Hinata," she protested.

"Why?" Sasuke insisted.

"Because she's better with dealing with people with eye jutsus," she replied. "I can deal with normal eyes, but that's it." Sasuke sighed sharply as his eyes narrowed.

"Fine."

* * *

"God damn it," Sasuke cursed for the millionth time that day. Not only was he dead tired from staying up nearly all night the previous night, but his chakra was completely depleted, leaving him rather light-headed. The black rectangular glasses constantly slipping down his nose only augmented his annoyance. If his sight didn't depend on those glasses, he would have snapped them apart and shattered them by now… Then again, he couldn't. "I-I made them s-so that th-they won't b-break when you g-go on m-missions," she told him. "Th-They also won't slow d-down your Sh-Sharingan." But still. Glasses were just _weird_. It didn't help that Naruto burst into laughter when he saw him. Even Sakura, who was with him, giggled a little.

"It doesn't look bad, Sasuke-kun," she assured him. "It's just a little strange seeing them on you." Oh how he hated them both. The three made their way over to Kakashi's house, where Kakashi and Sai waited.

"Oh, it's you," Sai said the second he saw Sasuke. Sasuke glowered at him.

"Be nice, Sai," Sakura warned him.

"Should I give him a nickname?" Sai asked, cocking his head to the side. Sakura looked rather uncomfortable.

"Uh…" she mumbled. Sai smiled.

"I know," he said flatly. "I will call you Four-Eyes from now on." If looks could kill, Sasuke would have killed Sai a million times over. He drew his arm back, ready to Chidori the ROOT member in the gut, but Kakashi suddenly appeared, grabbing his arm. He expected his old sensei to spew some crap about teammates and not hurting friends, but he said just the opposite.

"Not in the house," he reprimanded. "Now all of you, sit." Naruto sprawled across Kakashi's navy blue couch, Sai sat by his feet, Sakura sat gingerly in a bright green bean bag chair and Sasuke slumped to the ground next to her. "Nice glasses, Sasuke."

"Shut up," Sasuke retorted.

"Moving on," Kakashi said as he sat in a beige armchair, completely ignoring Sasuke's previous statement. "Sakura, explain what you wanted to show us in that notebook of yours." Sasuke's eye twitched in annoyance as Sakura pulled out the red notebook they'd been trying so hard to find for the past few days.

"Wait, didn't you tell us about this already?" Naruto asked. "The whole Sage of the Six Paths thing?"

"Well Sai and I didn't hear it," Kakashi retorted, "so fill us in." Sakura exhaled slowly.

"Ok," she said, flipping through her notebook. "The writing on the wall of the Naka Shrine wasn't some secret to unlock the Juubi – that's the ten-tailed thing Izuna's after."

"Who is Izuna?" Sai asked confusedly.

"We'll tell you later, Sai," Naruto replied.

"It was a message to his children," Sakura continued. "Uchiha Hiroshi, Senju Akihiro and Yuna."

"Senju Yuna?" Kakashi asked.

"No," Sakura objected immediately. "I mean… I don't know."

"Moving on," Sasuke said sharply.

"Right," Sakura conceded. "Basically, all the Sage of the Six Paths wanted was for Hiroshi and Akihiro to make up, and he wanted Yuna to help them because he couldn't. Before he gave Hiroshi the Sharingan and Akihiro the Juubi, but just before he died, he gave Yuna the Rinnegan. He wanted her to reconcile them, and if she couldn't, then she would have to pass the Rinnegan down to future generations… to people strong of both body _and_ mind."

"You don't know Yuna's surname?" Sai asked.

"No, I don't," Sakura replied.

"Now explain the whole Izuna thing," Kakashi ordered. Sakura looked to Sasuke, who launched into his explanation.

"Madara is Izuna," he said flatly. "A hundred years ago, the _real_ Uchiha Madara fell in love with a girl named Kuwada Yuna. She got the Rinnegan, and the Uchiha clan pressured them to marry quickly, but she didn't want any part of the Uchiha clan, so they eloped. Madara and Izuna essentially switched places; Madara became Izuna and Izuna became Madara. They looked enough like each other to pull it off. But then, Madara didn't tell Senju Hashirama, his best friend, about the switch, so he confronted _Izuna_, thinking he was _Madara_, and the real Madara and Yuna were killed in the crossfire while trying to get away." Kakashi's eye narrowed as he rubbed his chin contemplatively.

"So Sakura is most definitely related to Kuwada Yuna," he mused. Sakura shrugged.

"I guess so…" she mumbled. Kakashi gave a heavy sigh.

"Well that didn't get us anywhere," he lamented. Suddenly, realization dawned on Naruto's face as he sprang up, accidentally kicking Sai's chin in the process.

"I know!" he exclaimed. "Konan!"

"Huh?" Sakura asked weakly.

"Your mom, Sakura-chan!" he clarified. "She would know!"

"Nagato _did_ say to look for her in Amegakure…" Sasuke acknowledged.

"Did you ever plan on going there, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. Sakura's eyes went wide.

"Well…" she mumbled. "I… I guess so, but… I haven't really thought about it."

"Then it's settled," Kakashi said. "You three will go to Amegakure to find more information."

XX

**Yay for slowing things down! Personally, I find a Sasuke with glasses pretty damn sexy, but what do you guys think? And aren't you relieved that Neji's not evil? The whole thing was kind of predictable, but articulated quite nicely: Neji never left the battlefield. You only **_**think**_** he did because Kiba told him to go get patched up in the medics' tent, and then the scene shifted to the medics. WOO, GO SAKURA! KICK ZETSU'S ASS! I really want her to kill him. I really do.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	16. Familial Ties

**Sorry for the late update. I got lost on the path of life with an old lady because I saw a black cat cross my path. Anyway, enjoy your chapter!**

XX

Konan took pride in being a level-headed, patient woman. She lost everything once when she was a child to one of the many wars that shook the tiny village of Amegakure to the core. She didn't harbor any ill will towards the Konoha shinobi, even though they were technically responsible for her parents' deaths. She couldn't, especially after Nagato put all his faith and trust into one boy from that very same village. At first, she didn't understand why he did so. Nagato just met the boy, so why was he putting everything he lived for on his shoulders? But then, as Konan watched the boy do great things, watched him save lives, find peaceful solutions to otherwise violent problems and go through hell to protect his friends, she saw why Nagato put his trust in him. He was an example for all shinobi to follow, the light at the end of a dark tunnel. She could remember how boldly she followed Nagato's example and put her faith in Uzumaki Naruto as well, that fateful day Uchiha Madara snatched away her last tie to Nagato – the Rinnegan.

There were rumors of a girl who recently developed the Rinnegan. Nothing was set in stone, but Konan was fairly sure that girl was a kunoichi from Konoha. She didn't know her name, her age, her rank or anything else about her. It bugged Konan to no end. She wanted to meet this girl, to protect her, to make sure she stayed away from Madara's clutches. Almost every day, she considered going to Konoha to find this girl. But then she would remember how hopeless such a prospect was. She didn't know this girl personally; she couldn't have said she knew who she was either, because she had no idea what she looked like or even what her name was. Madara spared her life on a whim – it was up to her what she was going to do with the rest of her life.

"Konan-sama?" Konan looked up to see a shinobi standing in front of her, his hands clasped together. "These four Konoha shinobi have requested an audience with you." Konan sighed as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand.

"Send them in," she ordered. The shinobi bowed his head slightly and ran outside the office. Konan gazed around her office pensively. It was small and cramped – nobody said Amegakure had the best conditions in the shinobi world – but it was enough. On one wall was essentially a timeline of her life. Picture after picture hung side by side, and the faces in them smiled at her. The first one was of her and her parents – the only one that survived the war that killed them. The next few were of her, Nagato, Yahiko and Jiraiya. Then it was just her, Nagato and Yahiko. Then just her and Nagato. Then there were pictures of Akatsuki, the people in the pictures growing more numerous as the organization grew. And then the number of people decreased as the pictures moved on. And then it was her standing with a grinning Naruto with a small smile on her own face (she specially requested that they take one before she left Konoha). This picture of her with Naruto was what motivated her to continue working every day, to do everything in her power to help the war effort.

Naruto walked into her office, his arms stretched back behind his head. Next to him was a girl with pink hair and green eyes who was fiddling with her flak jacket. Next to the girl was a rather pale boy with matching black eyes and hair. On the other side of Naruto was Itachi's brother. A small smile made Konan's lips twitch upward slightly. "Hi Konan!" Naruto greeted loudly. The girl's face turned red as she turned away slightly and fidgeted more. Konan nodded her head.

"Naruto," she acknowledged. "You know how dangerous it is for you to come all the way out here." Naruto frowned.

"Well it's more dangerous for Sakura-chan anyway," he grumbled.

"No, it's more dangerous for you," the girl, presumably Sakura, objected.

"It's equally dangerous for both of you," the Uchiha interjected. "Naruto, he's after you because the Kyuubi completes his master plan. Sakura, he's after you because, with your Rinnegan, you could potentially become the key to the whole war effort."

"Did you just say Rinnegan?" Konan gasped, staring intently at the pink-haired girl. The girl Sakura looked away and began playing with her fingers nervously.

"Um…" Naruto mumbled. "You see… The thing is…"

"Sakura has the Rinnegan," Sasuke finished for him. Konan's face was blank and impassive as she quickly scanned each of their faces. Placid Sasuke, nervous Naruto, even more nervous Sakura and emotionless Sai. Konan let out a heavy sigh.

"Look," she said. "This is something Sakura and I have to work out on our own. I appreciate you three coming all the way here to support her, but with all due respect, this is between Sakura and me. So will you please give us a few minutes to talk alone?" Naruto, Sasuke and Sai left the office without another word. Konan gestured towards the chair in front of her desk. "Sit," she instructed. Sakura sat down gingerly, running her fingers through her hair self-consciously. Konan gave a gentle smile. "I assume you're here because you've discovered your true heritage and you've awakened your Rinnegan." Sakura nodded slowly. "Now before we begin talking, I would like to apologize for giving you up to that civilian family in Konoha. That was incredibly selfish of me and your father, and—"

"I'm not mad," Sakura interrupted her. This took Konan by surprise.

"You're not?" she asked. Sakura shook her head.

"No," she answered honestly. "_Otou-san_ told me that you gave me up because you wanted to protect me from Izuna." She smiled. "Thank you for everything, _Okaa-san_." Konan pursed her lips, unsure of what else to say.

"Well…" she began awkwardly. "I certainly wasn't expecting that. I thought you would be furious with me for giving you up." Sakura shook her head again.

"Not at all," she replied." Konan stood up and made her way over to the wall lined with pictures.

"Come here, Sakura," she said. Sakura stood up and walked over to Konan. Konan draped one arm around her. She gazed up at the first picture. "This is me when I was a child," she said, pointing to herself in the picture, "and those are your grandparents. They've been dead for decades, but I never forgot them. Not once." Konan guided Sakura down several pictures to one of herself, Nagato and Yahiko.

"_Otou-san_," Sakura recognized immediately. "Who's that?" She pointed up to Yahiko.

"That's Yahiko, another one of our friends," Konan explained. "He died… in a little skirmish with Hanzo." Sakura's eyebrows furrowed when she heard his name. She gazed up at the last picture and smiled.

"You took a picture with Naruto," she said. Konan couldn't help but smile.

"Yes I did," she said. "Nagato entrusted his hopes and dreams to Naruto when he died. At first, I didn't believe it, but when Madara attacked me, I started putting my faith in him as well."

"He's pretty reliable," Sakura said, "but sometimes he has absolutely no sense of decency… Then again, when he doesn't have decency, he doesn't know he's doing anything wrong." Konan chuckled.

"So how did you find out about your heritage?" Konan asked.

"I always knew I was a war orphan," Sakura explained. "I mean, someone whose parents left her with a civilian family during the war. Finding out who my real parents were never really was my top priority until I got the Rinnegan." Konan nodded understandingly. "_Okaa-san_… there's something else. I didn't get the Rinnegan from _Otou-san_. He… he said that—"

"Nagato's been dead since Akatsuki attacked Konoha," Konan interrupted.

"But he became an Edo summon," Sakura protested, "and then he… died again." Konan sighed. "Anyway, he told me that once the Rinnegan was presented to one person, it would continue in that person's bloodline."

"Madara said that he gave Nagato the Rinnegan…" Konan mused.

"But I read on the wall of the Naka shrine that the Sage of the Six Paths gave his Rinnegan to her daughter so that she could reconcile her two brothers, and that if she failed, she would have to give it to one of her descendents who were strong of both body and mind." Konan's eyes narrowed in thought.

"So which story is true?" she asked rhetorically.

"I think Izuna's and the Naka Shrine's versions are true," Sakura said.

"Wait… Izuna?" Konan interrupted again. Sakura sighed and launched into her explanation. "I see," Konan said as soon as she was done. The door to the office suddenly opened, and Naruto, Sasuke and Sai entered.

"We're so sorry, Konan!" Naruto said. "The guard said he'd kick us out, so we came back in here." The faintest of smiles appeared on Konan's face.

"That's all right," she said. "Sakura and I were almost done talking anyway."

"So… are you two ok?" Naruto asked.

"Yup!" Sakura replied, grinning broadly.

"We're trying to figure out which theory about the Rinnegan is correct," Konan said. "Nagato's, that the Rinnegan would continue in its owner's bloodline, Izuna's, that he gave Nagato the Rinnegan in the first place, or the Naka Shrine's, that the Rinnegan would be given to the person strongest of both body and mind in the Sage of the Six Paths' daughter's bloodline."

"I say Izuna and the Naka Shrine," Naruto said.

"Same here," Sasuke agreed.

"But where could Izuna have possibly gotten a Rinnegan?" Sakura asked. Silence enveloped the room as the question lingered in the air.

"Kuwada Yuna," Sasuke said quietly.

"What?" Konan asked.

"The real Madara's fiancée," he explained. "She had the Rinnegan, and she died in the battle between Izuna and Senju Hashirama."

"So you're saying he took her Rinnegan and kept it for a hundred years before giving it to _Otou-san_?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Sasuke affirmed, "but that doesn't explain why you have the Rinnegan."

"If I have the Rinnegan, then I'm one of the Sage's daughter's descendants," Sakura said.

"Wait a minute," Sasuke interrupted. "What's your family name?"

"Kuwada," Konan said hesitantly.

"Then—" Naruto began. Suddenly there was a loud boom. A shrill, ringing noise filled the air, forcing everyone to cover their ears. The air seemed to swirl near the wall with the pictures, and out of that swirl dropped three people – two men and a woman. One man, a broad-shouldered man with pale skin and hair black as an oil slick, stood up first and dusted himself off.

"This is your fault, Akihiro," he said automatically. The second man, a tall, wiry-built man with spiky blonde hair and bright blue eyes, stood up shakily.

"I never did anything wrong, Hiroshi _nii-san_," he protested. He looked down to the woman. She had long pink hair and bright green eyes; she looked exactly like Sakura. "Yuna, are you all right?" She stood up gingerly and dusted off her red robes.

"Fine," she said simply. "Thank you, Akihiro _nii-san_."

"What happened?" Akihiro asked, gazing up at the ceiling.

"Where are we?" Hiroshi asked, gazing around the room.

"Who are they?" Yuna asked, staring straight at Konan, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and Sai.

XX

**Woooo another chapter done! And I leave you at another cliffhanger (tee hee). Soooo anyone up to date with the manga? It's so LAME! Kishi's running out of ideas, and he's probably just prolonging the manga as far as it will go for the extra money. Naruto's new power is borderline ass pull/plot-no-jutsu. Kishi put in ONE interesting scene to catch readers' interest and then made everything BORING again. I DON'T FREAKING CARE ABOUT KILLER BEE OR A. I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO SASUKE AND SAKURA. **

**As for this fic, a mixture of writers' block and low self-esteem prolonged the wait for this chapter. I'm thinking of writing a fic starting at the beginning of Naruto. Instead of Sasuke being so consumed with vengeance and hatred, he has self-induced amnesia; after the Uchiha massacre, he subconsciously made himself forget everything related to the Uchiha clan and Itachi. The Third Hokage used a jutsu to wipe everyone's minds of the Uchiha clan and the Uchiha massacre except for a select few (Danzo, Kakashi, etc.). Sasuke lives a relatively happy life with his adopted grandfather Danzo (who took him in out of guilt and kindness on his part) and Sakura (who's his best friend). But then things from his old life start to surface as he grows older – his inherent knowledge of fire jutsus, his Sharingan, etc. I don't know. Do you think I should pursue this? **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


End file.
